The European Youth School of Music

In a previous blog post we mentioned that our overall Young Musician of the Festival winner, saxophonist Jonny Vaux, would be participating in the European Youth Summer Music course in August and he has very kindly sent in a report of his experience there. You may be able to spot him in the group photo on the EYSM website!

The course is flexible, offering students a set of options alongside the more structured Course Orchestra. Despite being mainly a saxophonist Jonny played flute in the orchestra's performance of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, a piece that is new to him because there is no saxophone part!

In addition to this Jonny played in a Big Band and was able to improvise on piano as part of a small, improvised jazz band.

The Course programme ended with five concerts in which all the groups formed during the week out of the options choices and the orchestral elements got to perform. 

We are delighted that HCFMSD was able to support Jonny at this event and we are pleased that it was such an enjoyable experience for him.

On a slightly different note, the 2016 Syllabus will be out shortly so watch this space, especially if you would like to be next year's EYSM participant!!

ADC

Region Festivals Championship

Speech & Drama winner, Jamie Locke together with the Concerto Class winner, cellist Maria Marshall, will represent HCFMSD at the 2015 Regional Championships to be held by the Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Regions of the British and International Federation of Festivals on Saturday 12th September between 10:00am and 4:00pm.

The event will take place at Carlton Community High School, Green Lane, Carlton, Pontefract, WF8 3NW.

Tickets costing £5.00 each are available from Ms M Venables, 2 Meadow Drive, Darfield, Barnsley, S73 9HL. Please send an SAE and a cheque made payable to "Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Region".


Alan

A surprise bequest

In our last post we mentioned that, in his AGM address, our Chairman had remembered Harry Harrop, a long-serving volunteer from Marton cum Grafton, who sadly died last December aged 83.

We were recently notified by his executors that Harry had made a very generous bequest to the Festival in his will, for which we are extremely grateful. No decisions have yet been made about how it might be used but the Trustees will be putting their heads together over the coming months to think about that, so watch this space.

This is further evidence that the festival inspires its volunteers as well as its many competitors!

Alan

The Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 13^th June.

The HCFMSD Chairman, Paul Dutton presented his report in which he thanked all those who have worked so hard to make the Festival a happy and continuing success. Foremost on this list must be our indefatigable Secretary, Linda Wilson, but Paul also thanked the small army of volunteer stewards and scribes, the “trophy managers”, as well as our sponsors, donors and advertisers, the rest of the Committee and of course all the performers and their parents and teachers, without which there would be no Festival!

Thanks were also given to Harrogate Ladies College for their continuing support, to Tom Ramsden the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire for securing a donation for the Festival from The Spooner Trust and to Harrogate Borough Council who again gave the festival a grant this year.

In his remarks about this year’s Festival, Paul mentioned the introduction of the Novice Ukulele Class, the separation of the Boys and Girls Singing Classes and the separation of the Barbershop and Choir classes as well as a number of other improvements.

Paul also gave us some news about some past performers. Although our overall Young Musician of the Festival winner, saxophonist Jonny Vaux is unable to participate in the Regional Championships he will be playing in the European Youth Summer Music course in August. Our Speech & Drama winner, Jamie Locke together with the Concerto Class winner, cellist Maria Marshall will represent Harrogate at the Regional Championships to be held in Pontefract in September.

Finally Paul paid tribute to Ken Hulme, a Committee member and to Harry Harrop, one of our longest serving volunteers, both of whom sadly died last year.

The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary were all re-elected unopposed to serve another year. Planning for the 2016 Festival is underway and the Syllabus will soon be published. 

Watch this space!!

Alan

Ripon Cathedral Ten Pieces Concerts

Last Saturday, Ripon Cathedral welcomed hundreds of performers and audience members to two BBC Ten Pieces concerts, for which our very own Chairman, Paul Dutton acted as the host, giving a bravura performance, introducing the pieces and their performers. At one stage and despite our natural Yorkshire reticence he actually got the audience briefly singing a short, football club based riff!

The St Cecilia Orchestra and the two adult choirs (Vocalis and The St Paulinus Singers) were wonderful and filled the cathedral with sound, but the real stars of the show were the dozens of children making up the Children's' Choir and the four Children's Orchestras representing the Thirsk, Boroughbridge, Ripon and Easingwold areas. They sang and played with absolute determination and would have made their conductor, Jess Hayne, proud. The performance of the rousing final piece, the Finale of Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, saw the unusual sight of two conductors, Jess Hayne pointing down the cathedral nave conducting the children and the other, Xenophon Kelsey MBE, pointing up the nave conducting the adult players. Perfect coordination was achieved.

Towards the middle of the programme French Hornist Ian Wildsmith gave an excellent rendition of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4, showing the children what they might wish to aim for in the future. Hopefully many of them will choose to perform at HCFMSD in years to come.

There was a large and appreciative family audience with lots of young children. For the most part they appeared to enjoy the excellent music. An abiding memory was the performance of the first piece in the programme, Handel's Zadok The Priest in the afternoon concert. As this rousing choral work commenced, a little girl solemnly walked all on her own right down to the front of the audience where she stopped to observe the orchestras and choirs for a couple of minutes, before walking all the way back to her family. She is probably even now deciding whether to be a conductor or a chorister or a violinist when she grows up. It was that inspiring sort of concert!

Alan

PS: Don't forget the HCFMSD 2015 Annual General Meeting to be held at 10:30am on Saturday 13th June, at the Friends' Meeting House, 12A Queen Parade, Harrogate

BBC 10 Pieces Concert

Ripon Cathedral will be the place to be on 23^rd May when it hosts the BBC 10 Pieces Concert. This will feature the St Cecilia Orchestra and choir as well as several other choirs and hundreds of children. The concert is especially for children and families and the programme is designed to be rousing! Older members of the audience who were lucky enough to see Disney’s film Fantasia may recognise Modest Mussorgsky’s Night On A Bare Mountain!

There will be two performances, at 16:30 and at 18:30. Full details can be found in the very comprehensive North Yorkshire Music & Arts Events Diary.

Alan

Another Yorkshire Festival

You don’t have to wait until 2016 for another excellent Yorkshire cultural experience. We are only a week and a half away from the start of the 109^th annual Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts. This has been running even longer than HCFMSD!

This competitive music and drama festival will take place at various Ilkley venues during the week commencing 11 May, culminating with performances at both Kings Hall and Christchurch on Saturday 16 May.

Further information can be found at the Festival’s website.  

Alan