London Festival Beckons For Aberdeen String Ensemble

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A stained glass window in St Michael & All Angels, Waterford, Nr Hertford, featuring St Cecelia.

Aberdeen Youth String Ensemble has been chosen to perform at London's Royal Festival Hall, as part of a prestigious national festival. The talented young members hope to wow a panel of National Festival of Music for Youth judges, while competing against other youth orchestras and schools in the string and chamber section.

Following their performances at 55 of the Music for Youth Regional Festivals over the past few months, up to 300 groups of the nation's young musicians and singers have been chosen to take part in the week-long festival.

The ensemble travelled to Whickham, near Newcastle, to take part in the regional competition, which led to the invitation to perform in London.

The National Festival of Music for Youth - which is the largest festival of its kind in Europe - takes place in London, from July 7 to July 12.

AYSE will perform on July 9. Performance awards will be presented by the adjudicators, and 30 groups will then be invited to play at the Music for Youth Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, on November 3-5.

Conducted and directed by Malcolm Bolton, AYSE is made up of around 20 young musicians, and is widely regarded as one of the best youth groups in Aberdeen.

It was formed in 1998, and is run through the Aberdeen Music Centre, which aims to provide the opportunity for young people to play together in bands and orchestras, in addition to the facilities offered in schools.

Mr Bolton said: "This is a wonderful honour for us, and we are very much looking forward to going to London in July, to take part in the festival and show just what we're made of."

AYSE musicians are aged between 12 and 18, and many past members have gone on to study music at colleges such as the Royal College of Music in London, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

As well as performing a number of concerts last year, including a charity event for Unicef, the orchestra joined members of the Aberdeen City Youth Symphony Orchestra on their music trip to Clermont Ferrand in France, one of Aberdeen's twin towns.

- Leah Wilson 23rd May 2003

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