Parade Loss Fails to Damp Festival Spirit

THE Harrogate International Youth Music Festival is synonymous Easter, young musicians travelling thousands of miles to perform alongside local bands and make lifetime friendships.

Traditionally the festival starts with a parade through the streets of Harrogate – but for the first time in 35 years the music and colour was missing on Saturday because North Yorkshire Police would not control traffic.

A light covering of snow meant that group photographs were taken inside the Harrogate International Centre before groups split up to perform at venues around the town, including the War Memorial and Victoria Shopping Centre.

The Mayor of Harrogate, Clifford Trotter, said: “Events such as these provide a wonderful opportunity to foster cultural relationships between young people around the world.

“The International Youth Music Festival is one of the traditions of Harrogate. It has became a feature of Easter in Harrogate, starting with the parade, which we are sorry not to be having this year.”

The festival is organised by Perform Europe, which this year brought 290 musicians and singers from Canada to perform with 450 local young people.

Festival director Alf Scrimgour said everyone involved was bitterly disappointed that it could not start with the traditional parade.

Today the International Centre hosts the Easter Monday Music Night with performances by two Canadian groups, The Woodlands School Concert Band and the Central Memorial High School Symphonic Band and Choir from Calgary.

They will join four Harrogate groups, St Aidan’s Symphonic Band, Katrina Hughes School of Dance and Performing Arts, Harrogate High School Band and Tewit Youth Band for a concert at 8pm.

The festival’s Finale Concert is in Harrogate’s Royal Hall, which was recently reopened by the Prince of Wales after a Pounds 10.7m refurbishment. Tickets are by invitation only.

Thursday’s Finale under the baton of honorary musical director Neil Richmond, a former head of music at Harrogate Granby High School, involves everyone who has taken part in the festival with massed bands and massed choirs.

Ripon Cathedral is the venue for an International Choral Celebration at 7.30pm tomorrow.

It will feature Woodland String Quintet, Woodlands Concert Choir, St Aidan’s Chamber Orchestra, Word of Mouth, Central Memorial High School Choir and Chamber Orchestra, the Central Memorial Symphonic Band, the Central Memorial String Ensemble and the massed choir singing pieces which will include Vivaldi’s Gloria.

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