NYBBS attend Music for Youth Perth Proms
The Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA) and the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) were delighted to attend the Music for Youth Perth Prom at the Perth Concert Hall on Friday 28th October. This is the first time Music for Youth has held such an event in Scotland and the invitation is viewed as a significant step in SBBA's quest to build wider awareness of its youth music development work throughout Scotland. The Association was represented by its President, George Burt, Development Manager, Andrew Duncan and NYBBS Director, Neil Cross.
The Perth Prom was part of the Music for Youth Inspiration Series and was billed as "a concert showcasing some exceptional talent from within Scotland". This is the first ever concert of this nature to be held in Scotland by the organization and was reported to be an undoubted success by its participants, audience and facilitators.
The concert included performances from a select collection of just five youth music groups from across the country, offering a variety of styles: a folk/fusion group - The Gordon Duncan Experience, a rock band - Feel Free Conspiracy, the Stirling Area Youth Choir of the National Youth Choir of Scotland, an ensemble from Drake Music Scotland and The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland, who had come together especially for the concert. NYBBS, conducted by Paul Lovatt-Cooper, performed two pieces - ‘Pound The Street' composed by Paul and ‘Carpe Diem' a new piece written by the band's own bass trombone player, Josiah Walters, which received its premiere at their recent 2011 summer course.
Andrew Duncan, Development Manager commented: "Music for Youth is a tremendously large-scale organization which has achieved so much in its work for young musicians over the years, with one of its key events being the Schools Proms held in the Royal Albert Hall each November. It was a huge honour for SBBA and NYBBS to be invited to attend and participate in the first ever Perth Prom event - a really significant marker on the growing success of our projects and more importantly the growing external awareness of those projects.
NYBBS offered a performance of genuine quality which fully demonstrated and supported their and SBBA's requirement to be recognized amongst a higher level of peers in terms of both musical achievement and development work throughout Scotland."
Andrew went on to explain that SBBA's growing links with the organisation had in fact been established through another project undertaken by Music for Youth in their new focus on Scotland. SBBA had previously been invited to nominate young Scottish composers to participate in a week long residential project held in Ullapool as part of a music collaboration with Feis Rois the promoters of Gaelic arts and culture. The delegates proud to be attending were NYBBS members and students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Gregor Beattie and Michael Iles.
