New Staff Member at Festival

We are pleased to announce that Ruth McMillan will be joining the Festival as part time Administrator from tomorrow, 11th March. Ruth has worked in broadcasting, as an opera agent as well as freelance for festival's including Rock Ness and the Tartan Heart Festival. Contact Ruth to say hi on ruth@aiyf.org

Aberdeen International Youth Festival 2005

Aberdeen International Youth Festival 2005
Originally uploaded by Jennifer K Phillips

Festival Opening Ceremony 2005 - pics now on flickr - join our group and add your Festival pics!

http://flickr.com/groups/aiyf/

SLEEPING BEAUTY ATTENDS FESTIVAL!

Hard-working Muso-cum-Courier, Ken Johnston took a well-earned break from the Festival this afternoon.

FESTIVAL GETS SOME BALLS!

Aberdeen's Westburn Tennis Club has donated its used tennis balls to the Aberdeen International Youth Festival's (AIYF) Youth Orchestra.
Grampian Youth Orchestra is using the balls in preparation for their concert on Thursday August 9 at Aberdeen Beach Ballroom.
The youngsters are under the tutelage of innovative American conductor Randell Swiggum, who is using the balls to teach the musicians about co-ordinating beats and rhythms.
AIYF Music Assistant Claire Evans said: “We are really pleased that we managed to get hold of the tennis balls for this exercise. We phoned the club just in time, as they usually donate them for use in police dog training.”
Tickets for the concert at 3pm in Aberdeen Beach Ballroom are available from Aberdeen Box Office on 01224 641122.

FESTIVAL REVIEWS!

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sonja Rasmussen
Evening Express

“With a cast of all ages, and the funkiest fairies ever seen, the young actors squeezed every ounce pf comedy from the script and delivered it with precision timing.

“The Rude Mechanicals stole the show with their hilarious retelling of Pyramus and Thisbe. Absolutely side-splitting."

“Narrated throughout with TV news inserts and interspersed with carefully chosen music, this is a production that looks and sound terrific.”



World Music Night
Jenny Clarke
Evening Express

“Music to make you smile inside and dance for all to see. They are amazing.”

Edinburgh Youth Orchestra
Alan Cooper
The Herald

****

“The Edinburgh orchestra caught the abruptly changing moods of contrasting pictures perfectly, pointed up by some splendid solo playing throughout the orchestra. The percussion section, which sometimes gets taken for granted, was particularly fine.”

Opera Garden
Alan Cooper
The Herald

4*

“When you reduce your forces to this level, they need to be good and this orchestra was fabulous....It was a production bursting at the seams with eye-popping surprises – fantastic.”

World Music Night
Alan Cooper
The Herald

4*

“The ultimate source of the special atmosphere surrounding Aberdeen youth festival is its capacity for bringing together young musicians from every corner of the world in a spirit of co-operation. World Music Night was the very embodiment of this ideal.”

Opera Garden
Roddy Phillips
Press and Journal

“This production has everything in place, from the cast to the orchestra, design and lighting and the new English translation.”


AIYF Opening Concert
Sonja Rasmussen
Evening Express

“A high standard to follow.”

Music At The Mitchell
Alan Cooper
The Herald

4*

Local youth orchestra presents a unique concert

Symphony Small Talk
The orchestra is speaking. Let's listen in.
Thursday August 9 @ 3pm

Beach Ballroom

Grampian Youth Orchestra (GYO) breaks from tradition to present an original concept in classical programming.

Local youngsters from across Grampian are being led by American guest conductor and educationalist Randal Swiggum, who has been commissioned by AIYF to programme and conduct an unprecedented family concert entitled Symphony Small Talk.

Randell said: “For lots of people, orchestral music seems either sort of difficult to understand, sort of mysterious or just pretty background music, like musical wallpaper. This concert, of familiar classics and newer, less well-known works will show how listening to the orchestra is a lot like listening to a conversation,or telling a story, where the subject is the music itself”

Breaking from convention the one-hour concert is especially suitable for children ages 6-12, and will appeal both to classical music newcomers and seasoned concert-goers alike, It will be fast paced and interactive, and will be a chance to get both inside the orchestra, and inside some incredible music.

Festival Director Stephen Stenning said: “Randal Swiggum has a very different and exciting approach to creating a concert for mixed audiences. The programme is fast-moving and beautifully presented captivating young audiences, drawing in those unused to classical music and enlivening regular concert goers.”

This is the first full concert given by Grampian Youth Orchestra formed by AIYF. GYO will also be joined by local guitarist Ian Watt.

Repertoire

Dvorak: Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G minor

Lutoslawski: Little Suite

Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar and orchestra

Featuring Ian Watt, guitar

Copland: Hoe-down

Ian Watt, guitar

Ian Watt, who has been described as “One of Scotland’s foremost young guitarists”, studies at Aberdeen City Music School (based at Dyce Academy) with Allan Neave. With the school, he has performed in Paris, Stravanger, Aberdeen Music Hall and Cowdray hall to name but a few. In 2006, Ian won a silver bursary for his high mark at grade 8 and also passed his DipABRSM with distinction in the same year.

Ian’s performances include the opening concert for the “North East Scotland Classical Guitar Society” and a concert at the prestigious “Dundee Guitar Festival 2007”. In April, Ian won the title of “Ishoka Aberdeen Young Musician of the Year 2007” and due to this, will be performing Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Aberdeen Youth Orchestra at the Aberdeen Music Hall in March 2008. He has performed in master classes with such guitar luminaries as Pavel Steidl, Scott Tennant (Los Angeles Guitar Quartet), David Tanenbaum, Aniello Desiderio, Graham Devine and Tomasz Zawierucha.

Randal Swiggum, conductor

Randal Swiggum is conductor of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, of Chicago, Illinois which appeared at last year’s Festival. He is also Education Conductor of the award-winning Elgin Symphony Orchestra, one of the premier regional orchestras in the USA, where he creates and directs an acclaimed series of concerts for young audiences, introducing them to the joys of orchestral music.

TICKETS SALES ARE SOARING AFTER JUST ONE WEEK OF AIYF

The 35th Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF ) is celebrating soaring sales and sell out concerts as the first week comes to a close.

 

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland, Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, World Music Night, Opera Garden's Hansel and Gretel all sold out and tickets sales for other performances have been exceptional.

 

Festival Manager Jenny Phillips said: “We are delighted with the ticket sales so far,  it is a reflection of the ever growing importance of the Festival in Scotland's cultural calendar.

 

“The first week has seem some outstanding soloists and groups perform across Aberdeen and beyond.  This weeks events look set to be just as inspiring as the first weeks and we hope the positive trend in sales continues into the final week of the Festival.”

 

Aberdeen International Youth Festival is the world's leading festival of youth arts offering a unique platform for young talent and celebration of youthful creativity and innovation.  The Festival attracts an astonishing array of talent from across the world and offers an unmissable chance to experience high quality and diverse performance.