History of the Catholic Church in the United States British-America-born Catholic priest. In 1788, after the Revolution, John Jay urged the New York Legislature to require office-holders to renounce foreign authorities "in all matters ecclesiastical as well as civil." In one state, North Carolina, the Protestant test oath would not be changed until 1868. The Catholic population of the United States, which had been 35,000 in 1790, increased to 195,000 in 1820 and then ballooned to about 1.6 million in 1850, by which time, Catholics had become the country’s largest denomination. Between 1860 and 1890 the population of Roman Catholics in the United States tripled primarily through immigration and
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) is an American youth orchestra organized by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. It was established in 2012, and its first concert tour took place in the summer of 2013. Each summer, following an application and audition process, about 120 musicians ages 16 to 19 attend a two-week residency at Purchase College, New York, followed by a national or international tour. In January 2012 Carnegie Hall announced the launch of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA).