20 years of inspiring the next generation of classical musicians in the Midlands

The CBSO Youth Orchestra is entering its 20^th year this season. Formally known as the Midlands Youth Orchestra, the CBSO Youth Orchestra formed in 2004 and is made up of talented young musicians aged 13-21. The orchestra typically meets twice a year; once as a full orchestra and once as a chamber orchestra (known as CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy).

On Saturday 26 October 2024, the newest cohort of musicians gathered at the CBSO Centre to prepare for their first concert of the 2024-25 season. The course involved a week of sectionals and full rehearsals, culminating in a concert at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall under the baton of CBSO’s energetic Music Director, Kazuki Yamada. The musicians also had a chance to work with Rita Castro Blanco, Assistant Conductor at the CBSO. They performed a challenging programme consisting of Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.5 and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, joined by violinist Hana Chang who performed the solo for Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. Hana is a Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) artist and one of Classic FM’s Rising Stars of 2024 - she performed brilliantly, inspiring the aspiring violinists by taking time to chat with them and answering any questions they had.

Kazuki’s energy and enthusiasm was infectious as ever. The young musicians gained so much from the opportunity to perform with him and enjoyed getting to know him. In this video, watch them quiz Kazuki on extremely important topics such as what his worst ever haircut was, whether he prefers cats or dogs, and the age-old controversial question of what his favourite section of the orchestra is - check out the video if you want to find out the answers!

There is lots to look forward to in the upcoming 2024-25 season for our Youth Orchestra. As well as the summer Academy course, we have workshops, masterclasses, a training project with MishMash Productions and the next concert will take place on Sunday 27 July 2025 at Town Hall, Birmingham.

The young musicians also recently took part in a Side-by-Side project with the CBSO Orchestra, a day of playing Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony sat amongst the CBSO players, offering the chance to learn from the musicians and to get a taste of what it's like to play in a professional orchestral section.

"It was really cool to get valuable advice while playing the repertoire from the CBSO players, it would be amazing to do it again" - CBSO Youth Orchestra member

In attendance were two out of three of the recipients of this year's James Langley Memorial Trust award, Lottie and Zoe, pictured with Leeloo Creed (JLMT Trustee and previous award winner). We are very grateful for the continued support from the trust for our Youth Orchestra musicians.

If our current CBSO Youth Orchestra musicians are in any way indicative of the future of classical music in the Midlands, it is safe to say that we are in good hands!