The Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa (JOP) is the national youth orchestra, an ambassador for Portugal’s talent in Europe and around the world. It represents Portugal in the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) and is a creative partner of the Dudamel Foundation. It was founded in 2010 under the artistic direction of Maestro Pedro Carneiro.

Being a member of the JOP is the corollary of public investment in music training.

Our young musicians, aged between 14 and 28, are selected through auditions throughout Portugal (North, Centre, South, Azores and Madeira), every year, without distinction of academic origin or financial capacity, promoting their specialisation, training and launch into the job market. This annual programme is free of charge and consists of five meetings with innovative content, such as: body awareness for musicians, talks with prominent personalities and artists, national and international tours and training with renowned musicians.

Internationalised in 2014, the JOP regularly performs at professional classical music festivals. We would like to highlight our regular participation in the Young Euro Classic, where new works by young JOP composers were honoured with the European Composer Music Award. Currently, our alumni are part of several of the best professional orchestras in the world.

The Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa is Portugal’s representative in the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO), where it finds space for development and promotion and serves as an ambassador for Portugal’s talent in Europe and around the world. JOP has been a full member of EFNYO since 2013.

Our young musicians have the opportunity to develop their formal artistic skills and enrich their life experience through contact with counterparts from different nationalities in the EU and beyond. The affirmation of their individuality is discovered through informal learning of the meaning of belonging to Portuguese nationality, involved in the multiculturalism of European citizenship.

The promotion of integration into the European and national labour market is reinforced through the MusXchange young musicians exchange programme, run by EFNYO, of which JOP is a member. Through this initiative, several young JOP musicians have already had the opportunity to take part in youth orchestra meetings in Austria, Slovakia, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and Romania.