By Linda Mason | BYMT Senior Administrator - Fundraising
Last weekend, the first of this month's BYMT Festival Concerts took place – the Festival of Orchestras - TWO concerts in ONE day involving 240 musicians from TEN orchestras and ensembles in EIGHT performances!
The BYMT Festival Concerts are BYMT’s showcase concerts held annually in March and are a celebration and demonstration of the musical talent of Bromley’s young people. For three days, around 20 BYMT ensembles, featuring over 1000 young musicians aged from 4-18 years old, perform in a Festival of Music that never fails to amaze, inspire and educate both performers and audiences alike!
Proving that there is no limit to the opportunities for our young musicians, Anna Carter, a former BYMT student and now teaching at BYMT, performed a Tuba Concerto with The Bromley Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO), featuring BYMT’s string, brass, woodwind and percussion players of grade 7 standard and above. For Anna, performing a concerto with BYSO was a particularly special moment. Bromley Youth Music Trust supported Anna's early music education* which led to a music scholarship to study at the esteemed Wells Cathedral School – a stepping stone that undoubtedly helped her become one of the most sought after freelance tuba players in London today.
Another highlightof the Festival of Orchestras last weekend was a Massed Performance of 'Summer’ from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, involving 119 musicians from 8 different string ensembles. This was some feat as the musicians’ ability ranges from beginner to Grade 8! This project started towards the end of last year when Chris Woodham, BYMT’s Ensembles and Events Manager, chose the music and Christine Hardy, BYMT’s Senior Specialist Strings Teacher, started work on making an arrangement from the score for all different abilities and string instruments! Each ensemble rehearsed the piece separately, along with 3 or 4 other pieces for their concert performance at the Festival of Orchestras and there was only ONE rehearsal with all the players from all the various ensembles playing together. What a fantastic opportunity for our youngest musicians to be inspired by the older players and for the audience to appreciate just how far these young people can progress from playing very little to start with, on to acquiring such amazing musical talent!
Click on Link #1 below for a little clip from the day!
*Thank you for your donations to BYMT via GlobalGiving - all donations received here go to the BYMT Young Musicians' Bursary Fund which supports young people learning music who are in need of financial assistance.
"BYMT taught me an incredible skill that gave me amazing experiences while teaching discipline and teamwork and giving me a great group of friends."
"Music at BYMT has opened up life changing opportunities and a career path I might never have considered, allowing me to work internationally as a performer and enjoy what I do every single day!"
“Music is like a secret language that everyone understands, no matter who you are. There’s music out there that’s perfect for every mood, from jumping up and dancing to sitting quietly and reflecting on life. Music has the power to turn a gloomy day into a sunny one.” Making Music Day
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