Each year, the LSMA also sells recordings of the concert as a memento for those who took part that year – they also make wonderful Christmas presents for family and friends who were unable to attend!

Listen to a montage of clips from the concert.

Complete this order form and return it to Diane at diane.paterson@leeds.gov.uk to buy a full recording of the concert.

Leeds is a musically rich city. The music lives in the institutions of the city, whether they are schools, professional music ensembles, venues or music hubs, in the minds of individuals, and in the lives of families and communities.

Leeds is proud of its international links. Music is a key part of this, and youth music is at the forefront: there are strong musical partnerships with Europe, and further afield. We can celebrate close links with schools and young musicians from the city of Durban, South Africa and Chemnitz, Germany, as well as many other cities and countries across the world.

Culturally, the world risks turning in on itself. At the time of writing (January 2019), the UK is facing Brexit; other European countries are seeing the rise of nationalist politicians; the USA is putting ‘America First’. It is often said that music is an internationally understood language. But is it?

Up to a point, definitely. There can’t be anyone in the modern world who is unaware of the harmonies and rhythms brought to their shores through rock and roll. The familiar cadences of missionary hymns can be heard in songs from all corners of the globe. Our pupils in Leeds schools come from many cultures and bring into school many languages and cultures. They will all share some aspects of musical culture. But each and every child brings three cultures with them wherever they go: the global, the culturally specific and the individual.

Global culture in music is evident in the commercial music world. Pop culture bridges all continents, and pop music is produced in many, many languages. Classical music from Europe has spread into most parts of the world: there is an avid market for western classical music in China, as I found when playing there with a touring orchestra in 2018. These are the music of cultures which are seen as of high status or value: they extend their reach widely, and few can be immune to their influence.

Yet specific cultures and the music they produce survive and thrive alongside the global brands. The indigenous music of many cultures are growing, while others are threatened. Within Europe, we have seen folk music within England rise and fall in popularity in a series of folk revivals in recent years. Each generation reinvents music in its own image: the ‘Bellowhead generation’ was very different from its predecessors. Each generation shows the influence of other musical styles current at the time.

Individual cultures are complex. No child comes to school without an exposure to music. This comes from the family, from the community, from television/radio, and from a wide range of sources. This might be entirely ‘mainstream’, but can be distinctive and individual. (As an example: I spend a lot of time with my grandmother when I was a child, who was born at the end of the nineteenth century and lived all her life in Wales among Welsh speaking communities. The songs she sang me were those of her youth: folk songs in two languages, music hall songs and the songs of the First World War.) Leeds children bring with them a huge range of eclectic, distinctive and utterly unique mixtures of musical cultures. This is a huge richness for the city.

Music in education is for all. One size does not fit all, of course, so the richness of the cultures of Leeds gives those of us in music education the opportunity to deploy a really wide range of styles and genres: steel pans, jazz, classical, opera, South Asian styles, folk music, rock and pop and much more. And for all individuals, the richness of this cultural diversity enables a unique kaleidoscope of musics to fill each and every learner’s mind with sounds and possibilities. Meeting musicians from outside their own geographical and cultural locality is a wonderful thing to do. Hearing them perform broadens the experience, and sharing performances takes this exchange of ideas to a new depth.

In March the young musicians of Rock ‘n’ Strings will visit Leeds, to renew friendship and partnership with young Leeds musicians. They are a group of teenagers from the city of Chemnitz, Germany, who play an exciting mix of pop and jazz on string instruments, with a singer and rhythm section. They’ll feature in the City of Leeds Youth Music Prom Concert at Leeds Town Hall on March 12^th 2019, performing alongside some of the finest young musicians from Leeds.

City of Leeds Youth Music Groups offer young musicians from Leeds the opportunity to sing and play to the highest level. One of our groups, Roots Alive, performs folk and traditional music from this country and beyond. They visited Chemnitz last year to play at the Stadtfest to a huge audience, alongside their German friends in Rock ‘n’ Strings. Sadly, the event was curtailed due to far-Right activity in the city, and it was not possible for the main performance to take place. For young people’s music making to have been cancelled due to the actions of a group of protesters was deeply regrettable, and it is wonderful to welcome our German friends to Leeds. We have the chance to build understanding, to share ideas and reinforce a collective, shared culture of musicianship between the young people in the two groups.

To reserve tickets for the the City of Leeds Youth Music Prom Concert, please email Catherine at catherine.lloyd@leeds.gov.uk

For more information, including rehearsal details, please see this flyer or email Diane at diane.paterson@leeds.gov.uk

Please note that this is for Leeds City Council staff and retired staff only. If you are a non-LCC staff member who would like to find out more about the LSMA Christmas Concert, watch this space!

The performance will be at Leeds Town Hall on Monday 5th February 2018 at 7pm. Tickets are £6 and can be booked here.

If you would like to share this event in your school or workplace, please use the flyers which can be downloaded here (pdf). There is also a music workshop on Sunday 4th February at the Grammar School at Leeds which you can attend.

The Leeds Young Filmamkers Golden Owl Awards is an annual event which celebrates and showcases high quality filmamking by children and young people in Leeds.

If you’ve been making films at school, with a community group or even by yourself and you are aged under 19 (or 25 if you have additional needs), you could be eligible to enter your film into the Leeds Young Filmmakers Golden Owl Awards 2018!

The awards ceremony takes place in March at Leeds Town Hall. The deadline for film entries is the 2nd February 2018, so don’t delay and submit your film!

For full information, including categories and how to submit your film please see the Leeds Young Film website.

This promises to be a wonderful event that is not to be missed, so get your tickets now!

Tickets are £6 and can be booked here.

Click here to listen to an audio montage of the concert (mp3)

To buy a CD of the full concert please fill out this application form (pdf).

This is an annual event, which showcases all the fantastic filmmaking by children and young people in Leeds.  The awards ceremony takes place in March at Leeds Town Hall. The deadline for entries is the 2nd February 2018, so don’t delay and submit your film!

For full information, including categories and how to submit your film please see the Leeds Young Film website.

It might be eight months away, but we’re already getting giddy about the Leeds Young Filmmakers Golden Owl Awards 2018!   For all of you who like to plan ahead, we are pleased to announce that the award ceremony will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 27th March 2018.   The event will be held in Leeds Town Hall.

Any young person from Leeds, who has made a short film since January 2017 can submit to this competition and we welcome submissions from schools, community groups and individuals.  The deadline for submissions is Friday 2nd February 2018.

The Golden Owl Awards are just one element of the city’s film offer for children and young people.  Please visit the Leeds Young Film website for further information about children, young people and families can get involved.

26 March 2017, 7.30pm Leeds Town Hall 
Music by Vaughan Williams, Barber & Respighi.

Tickets: £10 (Under 18s, students and unwaged £5, Over 60s £1.50 off)
Book online

City of Leeds Youth Orchestra
Dougie Scarfe – conductor

Vaughan Williams – Job: A Masque for Dancing Listen
Barber – Adagio for Strings Listen
Respighi – Church Windows Listen

The City of Leeds Youth Orchestra’s performances in recent years are one of the great success stories of music making in the region. The orchestra now numbers nearly 100 young musicians and this programme is perfect to show off these wonderful young talents.

The Old Testament Book of Job inspired English poet, mystic, painter and engraver William Blake to create one of his finest works, a series of 22 engravings illustrating the Book of Job. Blake’s engravings in turn inspired Vaughan Williams to compose one of the great 20th century ballet scores, full of beautiful colour, melody and stunning orchestration.

To celebrate CLYO’s fifty years of inspiring young musical talent, in the second half the orchestra will be joined by alumni for the most famous work for strings of all time, and Respighi’s amazing, technicolour score, Church Windows.

“A glimpse into our musical future – and the future looks bright” The Yorkshire Post *****