Youth orchestra invited to play at Albert Hall

In a fantastic coup for Oldham, the Music Centre's Youth Orchestra has been selected to perform at the Music for Youth Prom at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 13 November.  

The recognition came as a result of their outstanding performance in Birmingham at the National Festival of Music for Youth in July. 

The 80-strong orchestra will be taking to the famous stage as part of the finale of the concert. 

They will give a performance that will include an original work by the orchestra’s former conductor and retired Senior Teacher, Peter Martin, as well as the thrilling conclusion of Respighi's, 'Pines of Rome'. 

The orchestra will then accompany a 700-strong choir comprised of other young musicians from all over the UK, in a new piece that will provide the grand finale to the concert. 

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise, Councillor Sean Fielding, said:

“What an achievement for the dedicated young people from the Oldham Youth Orchestra. 

“I’m so pleased and proud of them and the fact that our Music Service has been chosen to represent Oldham on the national stage.

“This is the first time in almost 20 years that an orchestra from the North West has qualified to take part in the concert and clearly shows just how much talent we have in our borough.

“I’m sure the orchestra is over the moon and I wish them the best of luck when they perform in front of an audience of more than 5,000 people. 

“I know that they’ve been practising extremely hard to perfect their performance. 

“I’d like to thank the team at the Music Centre for their continued commitment to training and mentoring the talented musicians.”

To find out more about the performance, visit www.mfy.org.uk/events/mfy-proms/.