Gloucestershire Youth String Orchestra perform at the Royal Albert Hall
The Youth String Orchestra, which is run by the County Council’s Gloucestershire Music, were selected to perform at the Proms – one of the UK’s most prestigious youth music events.
The Music for Youth Proms 2025 took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall over two nights on November 10 and 11.
The Gloucestershire Youth String Orchestra is made up of string players Grade 5 and above from across Gloucestershire who rehearse weekly and enjoy playing an eclectic repertoire. They joined 1,500 young musicians from across the country in a performance of Orawa, a piece by Wojciech Kilar.
Orawa is an energetic, technically demanding composition requiring the ensemble to work together as a team to create a tonal landscape like no other. Repetitive melodies and clash chords provide a depiction of the Tatra mountain range on the Polish/Slovakian border, adding colour to tell of grass-covered mountain pastures, rocky terrain and fast flowing rivers.
Gloucestershire County Council is the Hub Lead Organisation for the GSW Music Hub and receive annual Arts Council England grant funding to support music education across Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.
As the County Council’s music service, Gloucestershire Music provides many music services to young people both inside and outside of school, and the Gloucestershire Youth String Orchestra is one of seven top county music groups that it runs during term time.
Natasha, a student who performs with the orchestra, said: “I love playing in the Gloucestershire Youth String Orchestra due to the number of great opportunities we are given. Being able to play at the Royal Albert Hall was a dream come true.”
Nick Steel, Conductor of the Gloucestershire Youth String Orchestra, said: “We were absolutely thrilled to perform at the Royal Albert Hall – it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students and a huge celebration of their hard work and talent. We’re so proud of our students and loved representing Gloucestershire on the national stage.”
Lisa Mayo, Head of Gloucestershire Music at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Performing at The Royal Albert Hall was a wonderful way to celebrate the excellence of our county’s young musicians and is so well deserved. It reflects the high standards we see from all of our County Music Groups on a weekly basis. Playing a musical instrument has so many benefits but the most enjoyable way to be a musician is to play with others and we create those opportunities for all levels of musician. Along with our GSW Hub partners, we are proud to collectively provide a wonderfully eclectic and broad provision for the students in our Hub area.”
The Music for Youth Proms 2025 were supported by Arts Council England, the National Education Union, ABRSM, and the Musicians’ Union.
ENDS