Tomorrow’s Warriors has unveiled a new partnership with Bank of America, which is designed to strengthen the progression pathways for its young musicians into professional careers.
Through the partnership, the talent development organisation for UK jazz and Bank Of America will provide young musicians in the Tomorrow’s Warriors (TW) Big Band with performance and mentoring opportunities through a new ‘Side By Side’ development programme.
The initiative focuses on developing vital skills and experiences and enabling artists to learn alongside musicians from the Tomorrow’s Warriors professional ensemble Nu Civilisation Orchestra (NCO), known for its performances with Chaka Khan, Corinne Bailey Rae, Laura Mvula and this summer with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Over the course of one year, young musicians will follow a development programme that will see them connect with and be mentored by professional players, sit and shadow in rehearsals, and participate in sight-reading, composition and arrangement workshops. With a focus on musicality and professional readiness, it will see some of them deputising for NCO players in rehearsals, sessions and concerts.
Selected from the 120 students on the Tomorrow’s Warriors free-to-access Young Artist Development Programme for 11-25 year old musicians hosted at the Southbank Centre, the TW Big Band is the organisation’s flagship ensemble.
The TW Big Band serves as a training ground and gateway into the profession, as well as a longstanding community for alumni and members of the Nu Civilisation Orchestra, including recent TW Big Band member saxophonist Donovan Haffner, winner of the 2026 Jazz FM Breakthrough Act award. The band performs annually at Love Supreme and We Out Here Festival and appears regularly at leading venues such as Ronnie Scott’s and the Jazz Cafe, alongside a wide range of performance opportunities.
Bank of America’s support for the arts helps expand access to high-quality music education.
Tomorrow’s Warriors will soon announce its full summer of live events as part of its 35th anniversary year.
Through this partnership, we will see the first cohort of musicians flourish in real world learning, developing the vision for their professional futures
Janine Irons
Janine Irons OBE, co-founder and chief executive of Tomorrow’s Warriors, said “This partnership comes at a pivotal time for Tomorrow’s Warriors as we mark 35 years of championing excellence, widening access and challenging inequity in the music industry. Bank of America’s support strengthens our ability to provide a progression pathway for the incredible young musicians in our Big Band to develop into professional musicians in our world-class professional ensemble Nu Civilisation Orchestra.
“Through this partnership, we will see the first cohort of musicians flourish in real world learning, developing the vision for their professional futures. Tomorrow’s Warriors champions young musicians with extraordinary talent – regardless of race, gender or background – to build the skills, confidence, agency and connections that they need to thrive.”
Fernando Vicario, UK country executive at Bank of America, said “We believe talent should never be limited by background. We’re honoured to support Tomorrow’s Warriors in creating pathways for exceptional young musicians to develop the skills, confidence and experience to shape their futures and reach new audiences. Tomorrow’s Warriors is changing lives through music, and we look forward to seeing these talented young people excel.”
The partnership marks the beginning of a series of Big Band performances this year at Foyles (July 31), The Southbank Centre (August 2), Kings Cross Summer Sounds (August 16), We Out Here Festival (August 21-22), the Jazz Café (October 2) and Pizza Express (November 15).
