Youth Music Festival Celebrates International Spirit

Date published: 08/04/2004

More than a dozen nations will be represented when the Spirit of Youth in Music Festival comes to Rochdale at the end of April. Musicians from Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Germany, Korea, Belgium, China, France, Thailand, Iceland and Great Britain will all be taking part.

The Festival brings together, in a 3 day feast of classical music, more than 40 young musicians aged from 12 to 20 from the five specialist music schools of Britain together with guests from the Geidai Music High School of Japan.

These highly talented young people, studying in schools that have reputations for creating the stars of their profession, clearly show that creativity and a love of music spans all cultures.

One of the youngest musicians to take part in the Festival is Mishka Momen, aged 12, from the Purcell School, Surrey. Mishka was born in London and started the piano at the age of 5. At 6 she became the youngest pupil to have been accepted by the Purcell School and she gave her debut London recital at the age of 10. Mishka, on piano, will be performing a piece by Beethoven, alongside her colleagues Chen Chen, on cello, and Anna Hashimoto, on clarinet.

Many of the performers at the Festival were as young as 3 or 4 when they took up their instruments and are therefore seasoned performers and prize winners of many awards and competitions, including the national youth orchestra and finalists of the BBC Young Musician of the Year.

Two of the older musicians taking part are Jordi Bitlloch, 20, from France and Prach Boondiskulchok, 19, from Thailand. Both study at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Jordi has studied the violin and piano and Prach the piano, both from the age of 6. They will be performing together as part of the final, Saturday evening concert with three pieces from Stravinsky's Petruschka. Composed in 1911 as a ballet, Stravinsky, himself a considerable pianist, made his own arrangement of the score for four hands, which Jordi and Prach will perform.

Chamber groups from the six schools will be heard in concerts on 29 and 30 April and 1 May. In the opening Thursday concert musicians from Chethams, St Mary's and Wells Cathedral will perform Ravel, Dvorak and Saint-Saens. On Friday, Mendelssohn, Bartok and Schumann will be played by the Purcell, Geidai and Menuhin. And in the action packed closing concert on Saturday, musicians from Purcell, Wells, St Mary's, Menuhin and Geidai play Beethoven, Schubert, the 'St Mary's Song Book', Stravinsky and Dohnanyi. The chamber groups range from two players to eight, song is included for the first time, and the combinations cover four hands at one piano; piano; piano, clarinet and cello trio; string quartet, piano quintet; and trumpet septet. If ever the phrase 'something for every taste' had any meaning it must surely be the Spirit of Youth in Music Festival.

The Spirit of Youth in Music Festival will be at the Gracie Fields Theatre from Thursday 29 April to Saturday 1 May with performances each evening at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 with discounts for concessions and a special 3 Concert Season Ticket. All tickets for school children are only £1!

Tickets are on sale in person from Rochdale Tourist Information Centre at Touchstones Rochdale, The Esplanade in Rochdale town centre or by phone from the Festival Office by ringing 01706 627747. Full information about the Festival is available on www.spiritofyouthinmusic.org.uk.