National Youth Choir of Scotland welcomes chief executive

KENNETH BOYD has been named the new chief executive of the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS), taking up post later this month.

Formerly a youth singer in the choir, Boyd started touring with NYCOS at the age of 17 in 2003 and has been a senior producer with the national singing network since 2021.

Boyd was previously deputy company manager with Scottish Opera, development manager at Scottish Ensemble and fundraising manager at CLIC Sargent. He has also been a trustee of Paisley Opera and chair of Triple Act Theatre and Arts.

Boyd said: “As a young tenor, I toured with NYCOS to Chicago and Hungary, both fantastic, life-changing experiences. At the time, I thought, ‘This is as good as it gets’. But that’s the thing about the NYCOS network – it gives you rungs and helps you climb.

“I’m passionate about giving as many Scottish children as possible access to exceptional musical experiences, and look forward to working with our brilliant team to stretch our network wider and deeper in the years ahead.

“We’re proud of our track record of nurturing Scottish talent, but we take nothing for granted and will keep working hard to protect and develop our national choral scene.”

NYCOS founder and artistic director CHRISTOPHER BELL added: “Kenneth has been a NYCOS performer, a NYCOS producer and a proud NYCOS parent; having excelled on stage and backstage, we are delighted he has agreed to join our leadership team front of house.”