Festival has Started!

On Wednesday the 29th of July, the Aberdeen International Youth Festival had a fantastic start with a reception for staff and friends of the festival with brilliant performances by the Toronto All Stars, Nathan Zaake, YMT:UK, and Ruciteme-Culture at Zeste. The first shows also began with a performance of 'Our Scotland' by Aberdeenshire Youth Theatre at the Lemon Tree, after which everyone returned home to a fantastic Ceilidh at the Hillhead residence, with music from a ceilidh band and some very interesting takes on the traditional dances! Everyone had a great time and got to know a lot of different performers taking part in the festival.

Today (30th July) at 3.00pm there will be the Welcome Ceremony for the festival, at His Majesty's Theatre, with every participant country's national anthem played by the Noordhollands orchestra and represented by their national flag. It is a great chance to see everyone who is taking part and recognise the diversity of the festival.

Over the next few days the first performances will be taking place, with the Patrick Kunka Quartet performing at the Lemon Tree at 8.30pm on the 30th. On Friday the 31st there is a variety of performances including NESMS Colin Brockie & Richard Bailey as part of our chamber music series at 3.00pm at Queen's Cross Church, a Choral Evening at 7.30pm at Holburn West Church, and a concert by the Noordhollands Orchestra at 7.30pm at His Majesty's Theatre.

Also happening tomorrow night is a performance by Ceol Mor at 8.00pm at the Beach Ballroom. Ceol Mor will be performing new arrangements of traditional material for trad instruments, along with cello, piano, bass, drums and brass. It promises to be a great night, with a variety of interesting new compositions and some great music! Tickets are £10, £6 for friends and concessions so come along!

Keep looking out for further posts about future events and ticket offers, and we hope you enjoy any performances you go along to!

Shakespearean tragedy takes centre stage

Two young Scottish theatre companies are performing popular Shakespearean tragedy at the 2009 Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

Scotland’s national youth theatre, Scottish Youth Theatre, is staging a re-interpretation of Hamlet with a modern twist, which will see Shakespeare’s most infamous character played as a woman. Artistic Director, Mary McCluskey is no stranger to adapting Shakespeare and making the plays accessible to young people.

PACE Theatre Company, based in Paisley, will perform Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. First performed at PACE’s annual arts festival in Paisley, this abridged production of Shakespeare’s tragedy will be performed by 20 actors using the enduring themes raised in the play and applies them to young people today, creating an energetic and fast moving production.

Hamlet will be staged at the Lemon Tree on Monday August 3 at 8pm and Tuesday August 4 at 1pm.

Catch Romeo and Juliet at the Lemon Tree on Tuesday August 4 at 8pm and Wednesday August 5 at 3pm and 7pm. Romeo and Juliet will also tour to Aboyne Academy Theatre on Thursday August 6 at 7pm as part of the extended festival.

Tickets are priced £5 + booking fee and family tickets are available for just £16 (up to 4 people). Festival Pass is also available for £5 shows. For more information phone Aberdeen Box Office on 01224 641122 or online here.

An awfully big adventure - Peter Pan flies in to Aberdeen

A story of fear and enchantment, discovering a place that time has forgotten…the Scottish premiere of Youth Music Theatre’s (YMT) Peter Pan opens at Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

YMT bring their exhilarating musical version of Peter Pan - first developed in 2008 in Plymouth - to Aberdeen, returning this classic story to its powerful and magical roots and re-inventing it for the 21st century. Not a pantomime or bedtime story, but an unforgettable adventure that takes us from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Ewan Somers, 16, from Aberdeen, is in the production of 'Peter Pan'. He auditioned along with over 1400 young people around the UK and was cast in the show with just 30 other young people. Rehearsals start today in Aberdeen.

Performances at Aberdeen Arts Centre are on Sunday August 2 at 7pm and Monday August 3 at 3pm & 7pm. Tickets priced £5 +booking fee are available from Aberdeen Box Office on 01224 641122 or online here.

Jazz club...nice

We've got an exciting programme of Jazz coming up during AIYF this year, featuring participants from Norway to the USA.

Kicking things off at the Lemon Tree on Thursday 30th July, 8.30pm, are the Patrick Kunka quartet. The quartet formed at Boston's Berklee College of Music last year, and have received praise for their explosive and hard-swinging sound. Patrick is a drummer and composer from Aberdeen who was awarded a scholarship to Berklee at the age of 18. Whilst at Berklee, Patrick won a number of awards and also came runner-up in the Best Drummer category of the inaugural Scottish Jazz Awards in 2009. He is joined by fellow Scottish performers Alan Benzie and Leah Gough-Cooper on piano and sax respectively, and Dylan Coleman from the USA completes the line up on bass.

Get your tickets here or on 01224 641122 for the gig, or you can see them at Woodend Barn in Banchory on Saturday 1st August at 8pm (tickets available here or on 01330 825431), or in a relaxed dinner and cabaret setting at the Links Hotel, Montrose on Friday 31st July (tickets available here or on 01674 671000). They are not to be missed!

Groove Academy come to us from London, bringing with them an accessible and vibrant sound. Their mission is to empower young people to express themselves freely through music. They appear in a number of double bills with the Stavanger University Jazz Ensemble, whose creative multi-disciplinary learning environment makes them unique in Norway.

Catch these two groups at the Inverurie Acorn Centre, Wednesday 5th August at 7.30pm, at the Lemon Tree on Thursday 6th August at 8.30pm (tickets for both of these available here or on 01224 641122), or at Woodend Barn in Banchory on Friday 7th August at 8pm (tickets available on 01330 825431). You can also see Groove Academy alongside Bluestones, a Peterhead based songwriting and music development initiative, at Peterhead Community Centre on Tuesday 4th August at 7pm (tickets available on 01779 474373).

Last but not least are local group The Sideline Quartet, who join us on Sunday 2nd August, 12.30pm, at the Lemon Tree for a free lunchtime concert. With repertoire ranging from classic show standards to little known gems, there is something for everyone to enjoy here. Tickets available here or on 01224 641122.

Share the excitement - see something new.

AIYF secures vital funding!

Aberdeen International Youth Festival has secured a hat-trick of funding worth over £21,000 from local businesses for this year’s event.

Local business Sangs of Banff is to sponsor the festival’s Lemon Tree theatre programme to a sum of £5,000 which will be matched by Arts & Business sponsor fund.

Shell UK has sponsored £4,000, to be matched by Arts & Business, towards a new project for AIYF “Little Larks Community Singing Project” to be held in Northfield, Aberdeen.

Little Larks is a new music and performance company made up of RSAMD students who will be working with local youngsters culminating in a public performance.

Union Square developments Ltd has pledged to support the AIYF extended festival to the sum of £2,500 which will be matched by the Arts & Business cash back fund.

The extended festival sees international performers tour to venues throughout Aberdeenshire.

Festival director Stewart Aitken said: “This is great news for the festival: we are delighted that local businesses have shown their support for the event in this difficult economic climate.

“The funding will see the festival being taken to new audiences and communities who may not have previously had the opportunity to be part of Aberdeen International Youth Festival.”

Arts & Business is a world leading membership network and consultancy with over 30 years of experience in fostering innovative partnerships between business and the arts.

Coming Soon...Theatre!

It's fewer than four weeks until the start of AIYF 2009, and things are hotting up! We're very excited about our programme, which you can browse at your leisure here. We've got a diverse programme of drama this year, featuring groups from Aberdeenshire to Zimbabwe, and largely sponsored by MacB.

Aberdeenshire Youth Theatre are presenting "Our Scotland" - their take on Homecoming year and all things Scottish, in the style of a TV magazine programme. Funded by the Aberdeenshire Council Homecoming Scotland 2009, we look forward to welcoming this exciting young group back to AIYF for the fourth time.

PACE Theatre Company is a vibrant and thriving arts organisation which runs the largest Youth Theatre in the UK with over 2000 members. They are bringing an abridged version of "Romeo and Juliet" to AIYF, which applies the enduring themes of this classic play to the youth of today.

Umkhathi Theatre Company make a welcome return to AIYF from Zimbabwe, with "African Tales". They will present an imaginative and powerful storytelling tradition through music, dance, song and theatre. Audiences were wowed by their energy and friendly enthusiasm on their last visit to Aberdeen.

Scottish Youth Theatre continue their long association with AIYF with a modern re-interpretation of "Hamlet", which sees the title role played by a woman! In addition, some of their senior members will be performing in a Burns' Ceilidh alongside other festival participants, and there will be a showcase of the results of their two week performance course.

Shell are sponsoring Youth Music Theatre:UK's production of "Peter Pan", which has been transformed into a musical. An unforgettable adventure which has been returned to its magical and powerful roots has also been re-invented for the 21st century, taking us from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

As you can see, there is something for everyone and all our tickets for the drama events are a bargain at £5! In addition, we have a festival pass available which gives you even greater value for money - see our programme for details.

Check back soon for information on the rest of our exciting programme - contemporary dance, song, orchestral music, ballet, chamber music, jazz and more!

Ceol Mor Auditions

Aberdeen International Youth Festival’s big band, is looking for musicians for this summer.
The band was established in 2006 as a project where young musicians, especially those interested in traditional music, could use their music skills to explore some of the new work that's currently being written, where composers are exploring the margins between traditional music, contemporary classical music and jazz. This year we are looking at band members exploring some of their own ideas in order to devise new work, and at some short pieces by Scottish jazz trumpeter, Colin Steele. The band’s Musical Director is Harris Playfair, with additional support from fiddler, violist and singer, Mairi Campbell.

There are places in the band for this summer, specifically for clarsach, pipes (especially Border or small pipes), cello, accordion, fiddle, trumpet, trombone, and drums/ percussion. We would like to invite young musicians aged between 16 and 25 to audition for the available places.

Auditions will be held in
Tiger Tiger, Shiprow, Aberdeen on Saturday 9th May 11a.m. – 4p.m.
Quaker Meeting House, Edinburgh on Saturday 16th May 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Applicants should be reasonably good readers, and have an interest in a wide range of music. The deadline for applications to audition is Friday 7th May for Aberdeen and Friday 14th May for Edinburgh.

The dates for this summer are 25 July to 1 August, 2009, with three gigs at the end of that week, and a possible additional performance in Edinburgh on 2 August. The cost of the week is £160 all in (accommodation and meals at Aberdeen University campus)

For more information contact Aberdeen International Youth Festival01224 213800 or visit the website: www.aiyf.org and click on the menu header Taking Part

Photo of the week

Aberdeen Youth Festival-04569
Originally uploaded by Ali Foote

From Festival 2005, this gorgeous photo shows members of the Hong Kong Children's Choir taking part in the Festival Parade.

Festival News Update

We're pleased to annouce that we have confirmation from youth orchestras from the Netherlands (No-ordhollands Y.O.) Scotland (NYOS), and the Basque Region of Spain (Basque Y.O.).

The Festival’s own creation – the traditional music big band, Ceol Mor will be performing at the Beach Ballroom and at some venues outwith the city centre, and we will be having special Burns Celebrations as part of Homecoming Scotland, including winners of national Burns competitions, with Highland dancing, piping, and a theatrical exploration of The Enlightenment.

Theatre groups will include the highly-acclaimed Mitchell School of Drama from Inverurie, Youth Music Theatre UK, and Scottish Youth Theatre.

We'll be extending the chamber series after the success of last year, with a series of concerts as well as the Norman Cooper Chamber Music Competition.

All being well, we'll aslo be welcoming back the Toronto All Star Steel Band from Canada, and Happy Feet from Norway, the National Youth Choir of Scotland plus dance companies from Ghana and the Bahamas!

Festival creates new supporters scheme

Individual Giving

The Festival Stars scheme has been created to acknowledge the contribution made to Aberdeen International Youth Festival by individual donors.

Support from private individuals is crucial in enabling the Aberdeen International Youth Festival's exciting work to continue. Core public funding accounts for approximately 25% of our income and we have to raise at least £150,000 annually over and above our other earnings.

Your donation will help assist the international arts companies take part in the Festival and will also enable the Festival to continue its education projects creating opportunities for local young people.

As a Star donor, you will be acknowledged on our website and in print, unless you wish to remain anonymous.

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Festival Stars

You can become a Festival Star by making a donation to the Festival. Named stars start at £100, rising to £1500 for a Diamond Star.

Diamond Star £1,500
Emerald Star £1,000
Ruby Star £500
Crystal Star £100

Star support is cumulative, so you can work up to becoming a Diamond Star by donating ever year.

If you would like to become a Festival Star and join our group of highly valued individual supporters, please contact us at:
Aberdeen International Youth Festival
35 Regent Quay
Aberdeen
AB11 5BE
Tel: 01224 213800
Or donate through the website at www.thebiggive.org.uk

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The Big Give

Donate to Aberdeen International Youth Festival on 1st December, and The Big Give will match your donation.

The Big Give have a £1million fund to give away, and will match any donation made through their website, until the money has run out. Even £1 will make a difference to AIYF and help secure the future of the Festival, and if you are a UK tax payer and gift aid your donation this means the Festival will also receive an additional 28p per pound.

Visit www.thebiggive.org.uk and click on the charity search option to find Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

Festival musicians nominated for awards

Young traditional musicians from the Aberdeen International Youth Festival are in the running for a host of prestigious awards.

Daniel Thorpe, from Inverurie, is in final round of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2009, having made it through the semi finals in Coulter last month.

Daniel has been involved in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival for 8 years, taking part in their Traditional Music School and then becoming a member of the Festival’s Trad Big Band, Ceòl Mòr. Daniel was also chosen by the AIYF to represent the North East at the International Festival for Emerging Artists in London. Daniel was involved with many groups including the Garioch Fiddlers and studied traditional music in Plockton before graduating with honours from the RSAMD. He is now performing with ceilidh band 'Heuch' and his own trio, Tyskie, which he formed with fellow students at RSAMD.

Bodega, the young, five piece band who taught on the Festival’s summer school this year, have been nominated for “Up and Coming Artist of the Year” at the Scots Trad Music Awards . Members of the band were originally pupils at the Splore, before graduating to Ceòl Mòr and now teaching on the course.

Bodega won the BBC Radio2 Young Folk Band award for 2005/06 and have since gone on to release two CDs. Bodega are: Gillian Chalmers (from Fraserburgh), pipes and whistle; Ross Couper, fiddle; Tia Files, acoustic and bass guitar; Norrie MacIver accordion, guitar, djembe, vocals; and June Naylor clarsach and piano.

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The Splore (Monday 27 July - Friday 31 July) is a week long trad music summer school held as part of AIYF. The Splore offers classes in fiddle, whistle, guitar and percussion for students aged 12 - 16, with tutors from leading young trad bands.

Ceòl Mòr is the Aberdeen International Youth Festival's young traditional big band, made up of some of the most most promising young musicians from Scotland and overseas.
They perform original and innovative arrangements of traditional Scottish songs and music as well as original work exploring the margins between traditional music, jazz and contemporary classical music. They perform at the AIYF, and have guested at the Trad Music Awards, the Arts & Business Awards and at Celtic Connections.

Festival is worth over £1 million to NE economy

An economic impact study of the 2008 Aberdeen International Youth Festival found that it is worth more than £1 million to the local economy.

The study shows that festival has a £1.2m impact and directly or indirectly supports the creation of 25 full-time equivalent jobs in the North-east.

Based on the annual funding grant from Aberdeen City Council to AIYF, the return to the city and wider area is more than nine times on the initial investment through ticket sales, accommodation, transport and general spend in shops and restaurants.

The study also showed that the festival had a 98% audience satisfaction rating of good or very good. More than 40% of those who did not live locally visited Aberdeen solely to attend the festival. Some 89% of the audience said that they planned to come back to next year’s festival.

The 2008 festival welcomed more than 1000 participants from 14 different countries. They took part in more than 85 events across 30 venues during the 10 days.

It attracted more than 8500 audience members as well as many more at the major free events on Tartan Day and Festival in the City.

There were participants from Switzerland, USA, Hong Kong, Brazil, and China, Some 80% of the young participants indicated they would like to visit Scotland and the North-east again in the near future.

The 2009 festival is already taking shape. Applications from as far a field as Israel, Canada, Spain and Zimbabwe will bring a wide range of orchestral, new music, choral, dance, theatre and visual arts to Aberdeen and the Shire. The 2009 festival will take place between 29 July and 8 August.

AIYF artistic director Stewart Aitken said: “We were delighted with the findings of the report which helped confirm what a lot of people have believed about the festival.

“Even with the difficult economic climate an event such as the Aberdeen International Youth Festival can bring economic benefit to the area thorough cultural engagement.

“I hope we can build on these findings for 2009 festival and increase the impact and benefits the festival has for the population of the North-east, especially through more participatory opportunities for local young people.”

The study was conducted by EKOS Ltd and funded by Event Scotland. Nearly 400 people took part.