21/12/07

Ceol Mor to play at Celtic Connections

Saturday 26th January 2008, 1.00pm
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall : Strathclyde Suite

Ceol Mor will be playing at Celtic Connections alongside the six finalists from 2007's Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year competition.

Celtic Connections website

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20/12/07

The Norman Cooper Chamber Music Competition 2008 will take place on Tuesday 5 August 2008.

For more information about the competition and how to take part click here

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29/11/07

Aberdeen International Youth Festival and our staff and participants have been racking up the awards. Congratulations to everyone!

Arts and Business Award

Aberdeen International Youth Festival and Balmoral Group were awarded a commendation in the Arts, Business & Young People category, at the Arts & Business Scottish Awards 2007.

The commendation was for establishing Grampian Youth Orchestra - a thriving youth orchestra for the North-East supported by local authorities, schools, universities and colleges, linking schools music with the National Youth Orchestra, playing a vital role in music-making for local young people and achieving international recognition.

This is the second award AIYF has received from Arts & Business. In 2006 we were awarded a commendation in the Arts & Kids category for our long partnership with Shell.

BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2008

James Duncan MacKenzie from the Isle of Lewis and Amy Lord from Dunblane are amongst the 6 finalists in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2008.

James is a member of Ceol Mor, the AIYF's Traditional Music Big Band, who played at the Woodend Barn and Aberdeen Music Hall at the 2007 Festival. Amy took part in the Splore, Traditional Music Summer School in 2002 and 2003.

The finals will be held during Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January, and previous winners include Gillian Frame, Emily Smith and Anna Massie. Good Luck James and Amy!

Ian Watt, Classical Star

Congratulations to Ian Watt who beat hundreds of contestants to make it to the final three at the BBC's new Classical Star. Ian played at the Blue Lamp with David Buckingham during Festival 2007 and also gave outstanding solo performances at the Music Hall and with Grampian Youth Orchestra.

Eighteen candidates were shortlisted from hundreds of young hopefuls, all of whom were aged between 12 and 19 and had reached at least grade eight in their chosen instrument.
The best nine candidates were then selected to attend the Music Academy and each week the contestants had to convince the panel of expert judges that they have the commitment and charisma to become a star.

Ian, along with fellow Scot, Karen Geoghegan, made it all the way to the live finals on 24 October at LSO St Luke's. Well done!

and finally..

Stephen Stenning, former Chief Executive of AIYF, won the Evening Express Aberdeen's Champion Award for Tourism Ambassador, for his work at the Festival , bringing up to 1000 young people every year to Aberdeen. He was presented with his award by fellow Festival alumni Cameron Stout, in a star-studded ceremony at the AECC.

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1/11/07

Aberdeen International Youth Festival today announces it's new Chief Executive, Stewart Aitken, who will join the organisation in mid November.

Stewart joins the Festival from Wigan Pier Theatre Company where he was the Artistic Director. He was born and brought up in Dunfermline, where he developed his love of acting as The Carnegie Youth Theatre and Burntisland Youth Theatre, before going on to study at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh.

Stewart has worked for a number of arts organisations, including Purves Puppets and First Base Theatre Company, as well as acting with Wildcat, Paisley Arts Centre and Clyde Unity Theatre. He was Associate Director at the Netherbow Arts Centre in Edinburgh and Artistic Director of Borders Youth Theatre before moving south to Wigan, where he spent the last six years running the Wigan Pier Theatre Company.

Stewart says of his move to Aberdeen:
"It's a major challenge to continue the success of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival with its very impressive history and important position in the International cultural scene. My family share my excitement at the move and my two girls are looking forward to exploring their new surroundings."

Stewart Aitken replaces Stephen Stenning, who has joined Glasgow based events company UZ.


1/09/07

AIYF celebrates successful 35th Festival

The International Festival showed itself to be a generator of exciting and innovative work. There were more projects creating original work with emerging talent than ever before. One effect was that over half of the festival participants were from Scotland for the first time (173 or 21% from North East Scotland and 291 or 35% from the rest of Scotland). The Festival also boasted some of the world's top talent including the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, Laudibus (the chamber choir of the UK's National Youth Choir) and Umdumo Wesizwe from Zimbabwe as well as leading international artists such as Julian Lloyd Webber and Jose Serebrier.

Youthful Creativity and Artistic Innovation

AIYF worked with Youth Music Theatre UK to create an original music theatre piece based on 'Great Expectations'. Over thirty young performers worked with ground-breaking director Gerry Flanagan on a two week residency in Aberdeen before presenting the acclaimed co-production at Aberdeen Art Centre.

Aberdeenshire Youth Theatre was formed as part of an AIYF commissioned supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Waste Aware Aberdeen and STV. The 28 young actors rehearse in Inverurie with director Rona Mitchell and specialist artist Al Seed (from The Arches, Glasgow). The resultant production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was performed for three nights at the Lemon Tree and was one of the hits of the Festival.

"Side-splitting Shakespeare at its best" Evening Express

Fast becoming Festival favourites The Traditional Music Big Band 'Ceol Mor' was formed again this year and they performed three new arrangements especially commissioned thanks to support from the Scottish Arts Council and from the PRS foundation. The original works by Aidan O'Rouke, Corrina Hewat and David Milligan were performed both as a part of the World Music Night at the Music Hall but also at Woodend Barn Banchory.

"It sparked wild applause before an encore brought all the players together and lifted the roof"
4 star review, The Herald


GYO, the new local orchestra formed by the Festival, worked with American conductor Randal Swiggum. They took on the role of 'Host Orchestra' at the Opening Ceremony and created a very different kind of orchestral concert for young audiences. A performance in the Beach Ballroom targeting young audiences was the young orchestra's first solo concert and it featured local guitarist Ian Watt as soloist.

AIYF, once again produced an original opera production. Hansel and Gretel featured a local choir (Haddo Youth Choir) and the cast of international singers worked with young actors from Aberdeen gaining there first experience of opera. The opera was also performed outside Aberdeen City for the first time with performances in Haddo House and the Beach Ballroom.

"…delightfully winsome and fantastical production"
4 star review, The Herald