A Promenade for youth

Across the UK, thousands of young musicians are preparing for a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform in the world’s most famous concert hall, the Royal Albert Hall. On 9, 10 and 11 November, Music for Youth’s Schools Prom concerts will showcase the most eclectic mix of musical styles performed by young people under one roof.

At the age of thirteen I had my first experience with Music for Youth as a flautist with the Staffordshire Youth Wind Band at the Schools Prom. The opportunity to perform in a major venue was a significant early influence and I can still remember the excitement and thrill of it all. As I look towards this year’s concerts they have a vibrancy and energy that is incredibly exciting. We aspire for these shows to have a real impact on perceptions about young people’s music-making. Each year we want the concerts to surprise and inspire through unique collaborations, the nature of repertoire and the positioning of musical ideas.

More and more original music is being performed across the concerts and this year all three Massed Choir’s will be performing brand new works including the premiere of a new piece by Stephen McNeff. We have also commissioned Peter Wiegold to write a series of short pieces for Saxophone Quartet. Other groups will be performing some of their self-penned pieces, while at the same time we will recognise the musical greats of the past such as Purcell and the modern day music legend Michael Jackson with a specially arranged version of Earth Song.

To put on three entirely different shows over three evenings is an incredibly ambitious venture but this is an ambitious organisation. This year we have more groups collaborating than ever before and we’re particularly excited about the Bollywood theme presented as collaborations between an orchestra and choir and dhol and brass group which will run across the Monday and Tuesday evening.

The Schools Prom concerts mark the end of our 2009 Season but we are already beginning to receive applications for our 2010 Regional Festival Series. The Regional Festivals are the start of the MFY season and is now one of our most impressive strands as it has the greatest reach, currently involving around 45,000 young musicians.

The Regional Festivals are a great opportunity for groups to perform to new audiences, listen to other groups from their local area and get valuable feedback from the MFY music mentors. We are in the process of planning 70 Regional Festivals that will be held between February and April 2010. The Festivals are open to groups of any standard, you can pitch up with your classroom project put together a month ago, or you can be a hugely polished choir or band. All are equally valued and it’s a great learning experience for everyone. We’re really keen to get more young people taking part in our events so if you know a music group, let them know about Music for Youth and get them to enter online www.mfy.org.uk

Alongside the Schools Prom and Regional Festivals, Music for Youth organises the National Festival, Primary Prom and this year we added MFY Friday at the London International Music Show (LIMS) to our season of events. Organising MFY Friday brought a whole new dimension to the work that MFY does, it was very challenging but incredibly rewarding. The LIMS BiG GiG brought together 400 young musicians who played the specially commissioned LIMS anthem on guitars, flutes, strings, keyboards, percussion and much more! We’re constantly looking to expand our reach and raise our profile among people that may not have heard of us, so LIMS was a great opportunity for us to do something new and to reach a new audience.

2010 marks Music for Youth’s 40th birthday. Since the Festival Series began, over two million young people ranging in age from four to 21, have taken part in MFY’s Season. Over the years, artists like Evelyn Glennie, Michael Collins, Jason Yarde and Nigel Kennedy have all taken part in MFY’s events. We’re really keen to hear back from others who have taken part in our activities over the past 40 years to gain a better understanding of the impact and influence MFY has had on those that have been a part of our history. If you have taken part in MFY please get in touch. As part of our 40th celebrations we’d love to make our own super group consisting of past MFYers so contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Many of our current music mentors are part of our MFY alumni. Our music mentors play a central role within the work that MFY does. Providing valuable feedback and encouragement to the groups that take part in both the regional and national festivals, the mentors are key to helping our participants grow musically. We are always on the lookout for new music mentors and inspirational speakers so get in touch if you want to get involved.

With 18 years experience as a manager, musician, consultant, instrumental tutor, teacher, and workshop leader it’s great to be back working for the organisation that sparked my enthusiasm for music so many years ago. Everything that MFY does is musically driven and on a personal level that is really important. A central part of my career has been concerned with bringing together eclectic sound worlds, encouraging musicians to view their work in the broadest possible musical context. Having devised and run dozens of music programmes for young people and their families for the BBC Proms and BBC Symphony Orchestra, I made my BBC Proms debut this year as Director of the BBC Family Proms. Working with families and engaging them in musical activity is really important. If family members know how exciting it is to be involved in music they are much more likely to be supportive. I’m really interested in looking at the work that Music for Youth does with families and we’re planning to hold our first family event in February next year in Birmingham.

As we look to the future, we will continue to engage with the music education landscape as a whole and develop the work we do in Northern Ireland, Scotland and across the UK. Music is at the core of what we do and we are committed to reflecting the immediacy, ambition and energy of young people’s music-making.

Lincoln Abbotts, Chief Executive, Music for Youth

Music for Youth
3rd Floor, South Wing
Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 1LA
 
T. 020 7759 1830

www.mfy.org.uk