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Youth orchestra winds up season on high note

NOW Cardiff — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:10:31 +0000

Cardiff County and Vale of Glamorgan Youth Orchestra will end their season of concerts for 2010 -2011 on a high note at Llandaff Cathedral this week.

The young musicians will perform Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony on Thursday July 21 (7.30pm), featuring the new Nicholson organ which has been recently installed at the cathedral.

The organ will be played by the notable Welsh organist, Huw Tregelles Williams, former Head of Music at the BBC, who has given organ recitals at venues all over the world during his illustrious career.

The programme will also include Verdi’s “Force of Destiny” overture, Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mussorgsky’s “Night on a Bare Mountain”. Tickets for the performance are available at the door, costing £10 and £6 for concessions.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Freda Salway, said: “This is a terrific way for the youth orchestra to bring the year to a close in an inspiring venue and with such a distinguished performer in their midst. The youth orchestra concerts are always of an extremely high standard and I’m sure this week’s performance will be as enjoyable as usual.”

Cardiff school children get exclusive glimpse of Olympic torch

NOW Cardiff — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:19:14 +0000

On Friday, Llanishen High School hosted a UK flag ship event as part of National School Sport Week and saw former Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener talk about his career as a British Sprint Athlete and gave children an exclusive glimpse of the Olympic torch.

He was joined by The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Prof Delme Bowen and Wenlock, the official London 2012 mascot.

National School Sport Week is a sporting celebration for primary and secondary schools and aims to generate interest in sport for pupils of all ages.

The nationwide campaign runs from June 27 to July 1 and attracts almost 14,000 schools and five million children from across the UK, encouraging them to take part and enjoy sporting activities.

This year Cardiff was chosen to host the closing ceremony which saw 400 children take part in Olympic and Paralympic sports as well as attempting to beat their personal best.

The event was delivered by Sport.Cardiff in partnership with Youth Sport Trust and Lloyds TSB

Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Nigel Howells said: “Cardiff did a fantastic job of hosting the closing ceremony for National School Sport Week today.

“The important initiative not only encourages schools to fill their objectives for sport and PE but also enables them to create excitement and alerts them to the values of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Cardiff will play an important role in the 2012 Games by hosting the very first event at the Millennium Stadium and having been selected by several teams as their Pre-Games training camps.

“It is therefore vital that the city continues to showcase sporting excellence as part of its legacy following the event, including improving club, competition and coaching infrastructure and the development of grassroots sport provision for children and young people.”

Youth Sport Trust ambassador, Jason Gardener, said: “To see so many young people today motivated by the Olympic Torch to try and achieve a personal best in an Olympic or Paralympic sport was really inspiring and I hope that many of them go on to excel in their chosen sport as they continue to develop. I tried various different sports at school before I found sprinting and I hope that, through events like these, Wales’ future sporting stars are discovered.”

Cardiff’s music service tunes up for a busy festive season

NOW Cardiff — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:19:16 +0000

The Youth Wind Band at St David's Hall

This Christmas will be busier than ever for the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Music Service ensembles, with no less than 14 festive concerts and events taking place, involving over 1,000 children.

The season begins with the Transitional Wind Band Concert at St Andrew’s & St Teilo’s Church in Woodville Road on Friday, December 4.

On December 9, 500 children from all over Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan will take part in the Music Service Christmas Showcase at St David’s Hall. Of the nine ensembles involved, one will be this year’s massed choir, consisting of 250 pupils from eight primary schools. All feed into St Cyres and Stanwell schools in Penarth, where the pupils have been busily rehearsing since September.

The ensembles taking part in the annual prestigious event are: the Youth Brass Band, the High Schools’ Orchestra and Choir, the Youth Big Band (“Jazz News”), the Advanced Percussion Group, the High Schools’ Wind Band, the Intermediate Brass Band and Junior Jazz.

Performances will include arrangements of traditional, pop and classical music, ranging from The Holly and the Ivy to Christmas at the Movies.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning Cllr Freda Salway, said: “The annual music service Christmas showcase at St David’s Hall is a real highlight of the festive calendar. It’s really wonderful to see the children and young people coming together to put on such a professional performance.

“A lot of hard work has gone into their performances and I’m sure the standard will continue to be high again this year.”

Other concerts scheduled for the festive season include the Christmas Celebration at City Hall, featuring the Youth Orchestra and Choir. At Llandaff Cathedral the Youth Brass Band will perform with Llandaff Choral Society. At the Wales Millennium Centre the Youth Wind Band will take to the stage and the Junior Schools Choir will perform at St Germans Church.

Jeff Davies, Head of CCVG Music Service said “It’s a very busy time for us but it’s fantastic to see and hear the talents of so many young people at Christmas”

All performances can be found on the CCVG website: www.ccvgmusicservice.org