Mystery shrouds ‘closure’ of NYMT

National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) has closed its office and made all staff redundant, though according to an official spokesperson for the organisation, “the company is still functioning” and “the Board will be contacting creditors in due course”. Thus far there is no indication that that the organisation has been placed into administration, and widespread confusion reigns over its current status. As ArtsProfessional goes to press, neither staff nor creditors have been told whether or when they will be paid, and there have been expressions of disbelief by youngsters and parents on the NYMT website’s Discussion Forum, including concern that money paid in advance for trips may not be secure.
The announcement that the NYMT office was to close with immediate effect was made to staff by the organisation’s Chair, Dr Maggie Semple OBE, on September 22, but the precise reason for the closure is still unclear. NYMT has been facing mounting financial pressures in recent years, returning deficits of £30,000 in 2000 and £47,000 in 2001. However, an announcement in April that a fund worth £3m over three years, financed by the Department for Education and Skills, Youth Music and Arts Council England, was to be earmarked for “national music organisations that meet application criteria”, raised hopes for its future. Ten organisations, of which NYMT was one of the largest, were specifically named as eligible to apply for the cash, which is being administered by Youth Music (ArtsProfessional issue 47, April 7), but a spokesperson for Youth Music confirmed that, despite having received grants of £55,000 in 2001-2 and a further £206,000 in 2002-3, NYMT “has not applied for any funding” from Youth Music this year.

NYMT remains tight-lipped about its current situation, yet speculation is growing on its website and elsewhere that problems extend beyond the purely financial. Dr Semple, who is also a member of the London Regional Arts Council, has declined to answer specific questions concerning either the organisation’s trading status or its failure thus far to apply to Youth Music for funding. In response to the outcry from concerned NYMT participants and their parents, now demanding answers from the Board, she posted a message entitled “Don’t Panic” on the website’s Discussion Forum, in which she thanked supporters and stated that “the office is closed at the moment, but not the company”.

The troubles at NYMT come at a time when the whole future of youth arts is firmly in the spotlight. A discussion paper entitled ‘Youth Arts – towards a shared strategy’ was published by Youth Music in July this year, following a series of meetings with arts organisations and practitioners to consider how those involved in youth arts might work to create a shared vision and strategy for improving support for this sector. Included in the consultation document are proposals for the establishment of a network of youth arts agencies to be specifically designated and supported as ‘development organisations’, forming a ‘backbone’ to the sector. The discussion paper can be accessed at http://www.youthmusic.org.uk/about/youtharts.htm