The Manx Youth Orchestra’s traditional Christmas Festival Concert has something for everyone.
This year’s programme will include plenty of well-known classics, from the Overture from Strauss’s opera Die Fledermaus to film themes from Harry Potter and James Bond, blues and the Miami Sound Machine. Add festive favourites into the mixture and it promises to be a sparkling occasion.
The concert, a high point in the cultural calendar, takes place at the Villa Marina on Saturday 15th December at 7.30pm.
The evening will feature all the orchestral groups that meet on Saturday mornings as part of the DEC Music Service activities.
It will be the first concert at the Villa Marina for many of the members of the Junior Strings, Junior Wind Band and Junior Orchestra but the ‘old hands’ of the Manx Youth Wind Orchestra, the Manx Youth String Orchestra and the Manx Youth Swing Band, as well as the Manx Youth Orchestra itself, will still be excited to play at such a wonderful event. This year will also see the Manx Youth Concert Band performing at the Villa Marina for the first time.
Maggie Richardson, Head of Music Service, who is one of nine conductors for the evening, said: ‘We have extended the opportunities available for young musicians even more this year and it is wonderful to see the progression they are making under the expert guidance of all our tutors.
‘It is perhaps a little daunting for our least experienced players to perform alongside our advanced players but they don’t always realise that in a few years’ time they will be the players everyone looks up to.
‘The MYO celebrated its 40th anniversary this year and it was wonderful to hear members from different generations reminisce about their Christmas concerts. I hope this year’s will be a happy memory for years to come.’
Tickets are ?9.50, ?8.50 and ?7.50 and are available from the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre ticket hotline on 01624 600555 and the Manx Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal.
The concert, which is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Manx Youth Orchestra, has raised thousands of pounds for local charities over the years. This year the beneficiaries will be Kemmryk, the Manx homeless charity, and the Friends themselves, Maggie explained.
The Friends are a team of parents of MYO members past and present plus ex members and other supporters. They work throughout the year to raise funds, which are used to underwrite concerts, help fund tours and help purchase instruments.
