‘Ellington’s Caravan sparked showers of sax fireworks; the band sailed through star UK saxist Tim Garland’s giddily capricious Agro Alegria.”

So enthused the Guardian’s John Fordham about this year’s Proms performance by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He added admiringly that some of the “string of gifted soloists” are still at secondary school. But how do you get to join this elite band? A possible stepping stone to membership is the new National Schools Jazz Orchestra, being set up by Rebecca Woodward, working from the front room of her Oxford home. Rebecca is already administrator of the parallel National Schools Symphony Orchestra (NSSO), and seems remarkably calm as she describes the considerable workload she fits in around a busy family life.

“I collate all the application forms, and make all the arrangements for the children to be auditioned. I do some of the auditions myself, others are done by other musicians. Then I book all the staff, and put the orchestras together, keeping my fingers crossed that everything will combine well!”

The existing NSSO runs a week-long residential course each summer, and aims to provide a bridge for aspiring young musicians between school and county youth orchestras, and the National Youth Orchestra itself.

“We provide the experience of playing in a big symphony orchestra,” Rebecca explains. “A lot of schools don’t have the wide range of musicians necessary to form their own orchestra — although of course there are exceptions, and that’s wonderful. “We are also able to offer a wider repertoire, so the children get the opportunity to play more difficult pieces than they would encounter at school. This last year we had a specially commissioned work from film composer Patrick Doyle, who is one of our patrons. That was special.”

As with the existing NSSO, applicants for the new jazz orchestra will be selected by audition — which could be nerve-wracking for some youngsters.

“It’s part of our ethos that the auditions should be relaxed,” Rebecca says. “If children aren’t relaxed, they won’t play at their best. There’s no point in making things so high-pressure that applicants are overwhelmed by the whole experience. So there’s a single audition, sometimes done at home, sometimes in small centres. Or we will go to an applicant’s school, so that they feel that they are in their own surroundings.”

But what sort of group is Rebecca planning?

“We’re intending to put together about a 25-piece big band as the core — there’ll be lots of brass, and a double rhythm section. All the jazz musicians will be taken through improvisation workshops, and be split down into quartets and quintets, as well as playing in the big band, so they’ll have a huge chance to try all sorts of different things.”

As Rebecca prepares to drive round the country conducting the auditions, I ask what has surprised her most in the nine years she has been involved.

“The standard of the children’s performances. I can go to an audition and be completely blown away by a ten-year-old. There are some phenomenal young musicians out there, who just need to be nurtured.”