Music for Youth By LARRY WESTLAND he chools Prom has now reached nine years of age and continues, successfully, to celebrate the abundant talent of our yOW1g musicians. Why is this concert series so successful? Is it the sheer variety of the repertoire or the joyful spontaneity of the playing? Is it the wild and clamorous enthusiasm of the promenaders or simply the very special surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall? I know that the latter has often been likened to a gigantic birthday cake. If this is so then the special inspiration for the performers must be that all the icing and the candles are on the inside. For most of the young performers playing for you tonight, that first step onto the platform is breathtaking. Five thousand five hundred pairs of eyes, the television cameras and glaring spotlights confront them as they prepare to play. Yet all of them will remember this awe-inspiring moment with pride for the rest of their lives. This year's programmes are full of special treats and famous guests. We are proud to have with us one of the jazz piano greats - Stan Tracey. Can it really be 40 years in jazz he has just celebrated? Surely not. Stan will play with three of our top young jazz orchestras - the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra, the North Yorkshire E.A.s.Y. Band and the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra. We have a fascinating double 'first' for the Schools Prom this year with the appearance of the world famous double bassist Gary Karr. It will also be the first time that we have featured this instrument in a concerto at the Schools Prom. We are thrilled that Gary has found time in his hectic worldwide schedule to be with us for this concert. We also have our first trumpet soloist on Wednesday evening when John Wallace comes on to the platform to play the Harut'unyan Trumpet Concerto with the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra. We are also very pleased to \yelcome the ' "cry gifted young flautist Karen Jones , together ,yith t""O leading jazz men, Kenny Clare and Art Themen" To present the Schools Prom this year we are especially pleascd to \yelcome Atarah Ben-Tovim who will bring to thc ,:O!1ccrts some of that special verve she brings to her f.l:::O ~IS :\tarah's Band , Antony Hopkins, who has rl'ae:: .:,: :"nc years of age " 'ith us this year, will co-present t:k' :0:: ,-':[( , and conduct our Elgar fmale , If you h.; \'C' C-,;c \'c'L:r cw O\"er the 1983 programmes for thes.: L"L':::~'~:'; \"l)U ,\'i ll h3'"c noticed that this yea r sees the r,::~:~:: 0 :- OLlr fl'rl'i;r11 guests. Earlier this year [ visited Poia::-: '.'. :t: l TI.' ll\ \1Jlc of thc CClltLII B~lreau for EdueJ::L'::.li \ ": s:t,; ,1Il ..i Exclunge5 to ,\[rl'nd ,1 yourh music f.:sr:u i ::: rh.: eit\" of IhJgoszcz Frol1O~lI1ce d 'Bidgosh' , :\ 11 t!;c \"Ollllยง: Fco~'le Illcr tor thrl'l' dolYS prior to tn.: h'':!!1::il1g of thl' t-csri,"ol! to dcyisc ol spectaculolr 5th..'\\" :!: d!l o ~'cn-olir sudiUIl1, OutstJnding among thesc \'OL::l~ rcrto fIl1CrS \\' JS ,1 song <ll1d dan cc group called RCDK[ \\h ieh ColIl1l' from Rz eszo \\' ill the south of Poland, \\ 'c ,,"cl co l11c rhl',e ycr\, speci<11 guests and hope thar rheir sta\" "'ith us ,\'ill be d happy onc, It is a great pleolsure tor us to sec so many ne,," taces performing at the Schools Prom this year, There arc
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nineteen ensembles who have not appeared here before. We also welcome the first appearance of many new works at the Royal Albert Hall. Wardle High School give us Song for Tricia by William Connor; Kenneth Platts has written Sinfonietta for the Nether Stowe School Orchestra and we have A Puppet Suite devised by Ron Forbes and Margaret McKinnon for Sunny bank Primary SchooL Of the many delights in this year's programme watch for a superbly lyrical version ofJerome Kern's The Way You Look Tonight from the Walsh Middle School Choir. Listen too for an exquisite solo in the Shepherds Song from the Guildhall Junior School Brass Band. Mark Bebbington's performance of the 'Emperor' on Wednesday will surely be a highlight as will Charles Foster's Kincorth Waits, not to mention Gary Karr's masterly performance of the Dragonetti Concerto for Double Bass with the Warwickshire Schools String Orchestra. With all this talent assembled from up and down the country, from schools private and public, we hope that the decision maker in our audience will carefully note the civilising influence of music on these young people and help us to Keep Music Alive ill our Schools. When the last exhausted performer leaves the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday evening we shall already have begun on our programme for 1984 which begins on 7 March at St John's Smith Square with the launch of the 1984 Regional Audition Series .
The 1984 National Festival of Music for Youth Regional Auditions Sponsored by W H Smith Centre
Date
London Bedworth Derby St Helens Birmingham Manchester Penge Aberyst wy th Norwich Stourbridge Brighton Newcastle Southampton Glasgo\ov Guildford Wakefield Swindon Leeds Leeds Bedford Exeter Colchester l:hrllct
Wednesday Thursday Saturday Saturday Sunday Sunday Sunday Tuesda y Wednesday Friday Friday Saturda\' Saturda;Sund a\' Sunda ;" Frida \' Saturda\' Saturda;' Sunday SUlId,l\' SUllda~" Satlll-ci'a\" SUllda\"
7 March
8 10
10 11 11 11
13 l-l
16 16 17 17 IS IS _J'J
2-l 2-l
,,,_J _J
_J
31 I :\}'ril
National Festh-al of Music for Youth at the South Bank Thursday 12, Frid ;!\' 13, Saturda\" 1-+ Juh
1984 Schools Prom Royal Albert Hall - 26, 27, 28 No\'ember
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