Wednesday 21^st June 2023 saw the Celebration Concert at Leeds Arena funded by Leeds Music Education Partnership (LMEP) and led by ArtForms Music.  The event was a huge success, featuring over 700 children and young people from schools across Leeds.

The 2,000 strong audience were treated to performances from ArtForms’ flagship City of Leeds Youth Orchestra, Leeds Youth Jazz Rock Orchestra and Roots Alive, the ArtForms folk band.  In addition several LMEP Partners were featured including the DJ Schools’ Beat It Team with the Corpus Rappers and the Leeds Junior Conservatoire’s band, Hole In The Ceiling.

A big part of the work that LMEP and ArtForms offer Leeds schools are the projects that provide new learning and performance opportunities in Music.  Our Taiko Project that has been running in Leeds secondary schools for 2 years now, provides teachers with training, resources including a scheme of work, and a full class set of Japanese Taiko drums.  At the Celebration Concert Cockburn School’s Thunder Taiko Drummers performed a fantastic piece called Kamaete after working with Jim Gaylard from the ArtForms percussion team.

The Taiko project for secondaries is part of Music Connect, our support programme for Music education in all Leeds schools.  It was originally delivered by our working partners, Louder Than Life who also run our Samba project for primaries.  The Celebration Concert opened with the specially commissioned Marching On Samba by Tim Brain featuring a samba band of 70 children from 3 different schools – Alwoodley Primary, and Cross Gates Primary – and featuring the Temple Moor drum group – Raven Percussion, and their light-up drum sticks.  A bold, loud, impressive way to start the show with a Samba groove just for Leeds.

The ArtForms Singing Strategy was brilliantly represented by the four different choirs featured in the event.  These were the Cockburn MAT Choir, The Woodkirk Upper School Choir, the choirs of Roundhay School and finally the Leeds Schools’ Choir featuring 400 children and young people from over 50 schools across Leeds.  The singing strategy is lead by our Choirs Co-ordinator, Claire Rivers and puts singing at the heart of Music education in Leeds.

This enormous choir, conducted by Jayne Leadbeater, took the lead role in our finale performance of The Future’s In Our Hands.  This song was commissioned by LMEP specifically for this event and written by our very own, Sarah Crowley who is the Events Co-ordinator for ArtForms.  Accompanied by the ArtForms house band, as well as the Youth Orchestra, the Jazz Rock Orchestra and the Samba Band this was a great way to finish off a great show with a big, big performance.

The Celebration Concert was the flagship event and centre piece of the annual, LMEP/Artforms Youth Music Festival.  For more information about events taking place across the city please click on the above link.

We are so proud of all the 700 children and young people involved in the Celebration Concert and of all the young musicians that we work with in Leeds.  Congratulations to them all for putting on such an impressive show.

Flyer for summer concert in Malton 8th July 23

Watch the video here!

If you’re interested in joining either of these groups, please email educ.artforms@leeds.gov.uk for more information.

You can watch the video here.

If you would like to learn more about the choirs, please click the links below.

Leeds Youth Choir – for high school pupils

Leeds Schools’ Choir – for primary school pupils

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.

Craig Lees is a contemporary vocal coach and choral director, and those who have been to his workshops before will know just how much fun they are!

Date: Saturday 22nd June 2019
Time: 2-4pm
Venue: Leeds College of Music, LS2 7PD
Cost: £3 (free for SMS and LYC/LSC members)

For more information, please click here to see the flyer, or email Diane at Diane.Paterson@leeds.gov.uk.

Date: Saturday 13th October 2018
Time: 2-4pm
Venue: Leeds College of Music
Cost: £3 per person

To reserve a place please send an email with the pupil’s name, school and year group to diane.paterson@leeds.gov.uk

For more information, please see the flyer.

Craig Lees is a Contemporary Vocal Coach, Choral Director, and Arranger. He is a Senior Lecturer on the Popular Music Degree at Leeds College of Music, where he founded the LCoM Contemporary Pop Choir in 2014. He is also the Musical Director behind Leeds Contemporary Singers, a nine piece vocal harmony group that recently rose to fame as the winners of BBC One’s Pitch Battle show. He has delivered choral workshops throughout the UK and abroad.

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).

Saturday 20th May, 7.30pm St. Stephen’s Church, Morris Lane, Kirkstall LS5

City of Leeds Youth Wind Orchestra featuring special guests from Leeds Youth Choir

Tickets £5 on the door

Saturday 27th May, 7.30pm St. Edmund’s Church, Lidgett Park Road, Roundhay LS8 1JN

City of Leeds Youth Orchestra

Tickets £10 / £5

Huge thanks to Diane Paterson and the committee for organising it all, to the schools for getting involved, and to everyone who has supported children to take part in all the various LSMA activities over the year. It’s a wonderful showcase for the music that goes on, day in and day out, in schools across the city.

If you or your school would like to be involved next year please email lsma.artforms@leeds.gov.uk for further information.