- Music for Youth
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Music for Youth is a British charity which provides free access to educational and performance opportunities for groups of young musicians and audiences through a series of festivals and concerts throughout the UK. 2 million children have taken part in Music for Youth events since 1971. Sixty thousand 4 to 21 year-olds took part in 76 Music for Youth festivals and concerts in 2006, with 85% of these coming from state schools. Each year MFY aims to work with 100,000 young musicians [1].
Contents
History
Music for Youth was founded in 1970, the first event staged was the National Festival on 10 and 11 July 1971 at the Lyceum on The Strand. Following this a nationwide series of Regional Festivals were introduced and there was a large increase in entries for the second National Festival in Fairfield Halls, Croydon in 1972. The National Festival moved to London's South Bank Centre in 1981 and to Birmingham in 2005. The first Schools Prom was held at the Royal Albert Hall in November 1975 [2].
Festivals
Regional festivals
These annual festivals run from February to April and provide free and open access to children who want to perform. There are 23 categories to choose from, many festivals held at a wide range of venues across the country and there are no particular requirements for an artist to be able to join[3].
National Festival
Each year the National Festival is held in Birmingham, the festival runs for seven days and invoves around 12,000 young musicians [4].
Schools proms
The Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall celebrate brilliant music-making by young musicians, singers and dancers from the UK. 3,000 young performers perform over 3 days. The children play to audiences of up to 14,000 and the bands range from boy-bands to symphony orchestras.
Showcase Music
MFY groups perform at major political, business, industry and education events. Events include the Junior Ignite at the Royal Albert Hall, the National Union of Teachers Annual Conference, the TUC Congress and the major party political conferences [5].
Inspiration Series
MFY also runs a range of events such as the Primary Proms, Secondary Proms, Upbeat and a Family Concert[6].
Celebrity Involvement
Throughout the years MFY has had many guest performers including John Dankworth, Ronnie Scott, Don Lusher, Humphrey Lyttleton, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Williams, Rick Wakeman, Tim Rice, Julian Lloyd Webber, Kenny Baker and Malcolm Arnold. Past performers include Evelyn Glennie, Nigel Kennedy, Thomas Adès, John Harle and Gary Barlow. [7] In 2009, Music For Youth found support from Stacey Jackson.
External links
References
Categories:- Charities
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