NYCOS (formerly known as National Youth Choir of Scotland or NYCoS) is a youth arts organisation, dedicated to providing high-level singing opportunities for Scotland's young singers aged 0–25. Led by Artistic Director, Christopher Bell, NYCOS provides a national infrastructure for young people, teachers and choir directors to support and develop choral singing in Scotland. NYCOS activities currently include four National Choirs, a growing network of Regional Choirs across Scotland, Mini Music Makers classes and a broad range of educational projects. NYCOS also commissions and publishes a range of publications, songbooks and educational resources. Background NYCOS was founded as a single choir in 1996 by its current Artistic Director, Christopher Bell with support from the then Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Richard Chester. It was felt that, whilst Scotland had national youth ensembles for orchestra, strings, jazz and brass, there was a lack of opportunity for young singers in to participate at a national level and standard. Bell had been inspired by his work with Aberdeen Youth Choir which had a similar format National Choirs NYCOS National Choirs comprises a total of four choirs for young people aged 10–25: National Youth Choir of Scotland (singers aged 16–25) NYCOS Training Choir (singers aged 16–19) NYCOS National Boys Choir (singers aged 10–17) NYCOS National Girls Choir (singers aged 12–17) Membership for all NYCOS National Choirs is granted by annual audition and is open to singers who are born, resident/studying in Scotland, or of Scottish descent. The basis of the Choirs' activities stems from a residential course where time is split between individual vocal coaching, musicianship sessions and sectional/full rehearsals. NYCOS became the first youth organisation to win a coveted Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) award when its flagship National Youth Choir of Scotland won the 2012 Ensemble prize. The Choir has toured to Ireland (2000), Sweden (2001), USA (2004), Hungary (2007), Germany (2010), Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia (2013), USA (2016), Belgium (2017) and the USA for a third time (2018), where the ensemble performed notably alongside the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in Carnegie Hall, under John Eliot Gardiner. NYCoS traditionally undertakes an international tour every three years (besides the exception of 2018), with those in the touring choir being offered a two-year membership. In the tour year, a second, non-touring group is formed named NYCoS Scotland. NYCOS Training Choir, formed in 1997 trains singers aged 16–19 who need more experience