A pair of performers with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra will head to London in the fall to study at the world’s top conservatory.

Amy Robichaud and Alexander Urbina successfully auditioned for the Royal College of Music on Feb. 2.

It’s the first time NBYO musicians have secured seats at world’s number one ranked conservatory.

Robichaud, a bass trombonist, said her live audition was nerve-racking but she was pleased with her performance.

“I’m very excited to be selected,” she said in a release from NBYO. “I was very nervous in the audition, but the judges were very nice. One of the judges was a trombonist, and explained he struggled through anxiety in auditions as well.”

Urbina, NBYO principal bassoon player, said he’s eager to begin his studies in September.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for me,” he said in a release. “I have no words to describe how happy I am.”

The two musicians received acceptance letters upon completing their live auditions.

Robichaud is from Caraquet and began playing the trombone when she joined the Sistema NB program in Moncton in 2015.

Through that program, she advanced to the Moncton Youth Orchestra and finally to the NBYO.

Urbina began his musical studies in El Sistema in Venezuela and joined the NBYO in the last year.

His parents, Marvicpermar Urbina and Steven Rojas, are instructors at Sistema NB Chaleur Centre.

Kenn Mainville, NBYO president and CEO, said he was thrilled Robichaud and Urbina had successful auditions.

“The Royal College of Music is the number one ranked music school in the world,” Mainville said. “The competition is incredibly intense.”

Mainville the College is where big careers in music and the arts are developed.

“For our students in Sistema NB and the NBYO it shows any dream is possible, there is no ceiling on your potential.”

According to Kevin Porter, deputy director of the Royal College of Music, the school receives about 2,400 applications each year for 300 vacant seats.

About a dozen Canadians are accepted annually.