Westmorland Youth Orchestra

Coronation Hall, Ulverston

One hundred young musicians aged from seven to 18 brought the Westmorland Youth Orchestra’s most ambitious ‘outreach’ programme to a triumphant close.

Fifty newcomers from across South Lakes joined an equal number of WYO veterans for a rousing concert of Beethoven, Schubert and the Czech composer Smetana. As a finale, the 250-strong audience joined in to sing Climb Evr’y Mountain from the Sound of Music.

It was an appropriate sentiment for a project entitled Aiming High, to introduce budding musicians to the excitement and sheer fun of playing in an orchestra. The concert followed a series of workshops by professionals from Manchester Camerata, oboist Rachael Clegg, cellist, Barbara Grunthal and tuba player, Ryan Breen.

Conductor Roland Fudge worked tirelessly to adapt musical scores to the levels of the Aiming High debutants, some of whom have barely reached grade two. His orchestration of Schubert’s Trout Quintet variations was masterful; he even found time to add a variation of his own – a witty interpretation for the bizarre trio of oboe, cello and tuba, played by the Camerata guests.

The Welcome Music was free-form jazz from the prodigiously-talented 17-year-old Ulverston saxophonist Jess Gillam.

Oliver Wates