CBYO - Royal Albert Hall
9th - 12th November 2009
City of Belfast Youth Orchestra Trip to Music for Youth Schools Proms
Just when I thought that the journey to London by coach and ferry could not get any longer Stena Line telephoned me to say that they had placed our party on the slower conventional ferry that night! Therefore it was with the knowledge that we had a very long night ahead of us, that myself, Paul McBride, the 91 CBYO members and 14 staff boarded our 3 Ulsterbus coaches on the Monday night.
After several stops throughout the night, and surprisingly some sleep, we eventually arrived at the Premier Inn Hotel at County Hall at 10.30am on Tuesday morning. The main reason was the location which was superb, as the hotel was located on the South Bank of the Thames beside the London Eye. After depositing the luggage and instruments at the hotel, it was time for some sight-seeing. The orchestra members had chosen Covent Garden as the place they wished to visit. This was a 20 minute walk away from the hotel which allowed us to have plenty of time to eat lunch, shop and enjoy the buskers performing in the Piazza. On returning to the hotel, we were joined by several former CBYO members, now studying in mainland UK who had been invited back to perform with the orchestra in London. There was just enough time to sort out room allocation and have dinner before we were off again. This time the venue was the Victoria Apollo Theatre to watch a performance of the musical Wicked. This spectacular show was a hit with all the members of the orchestra, who also grabbed the opportunity to mob one of the X factor finalists who they had spotted in the audience. After many photographs we walked back to our hotel and everyone headed to bed partly due to exhaustion, but also to prepare for the main event next day. After breakfast on Wednesday morning we boarded our 3 coaches and headed off for the Royal Albert Hall and our rehearsal. It is always amazing to watch the reaction of the young people as they walk onto the stage of the Albert Hall for the first time. This is one of, if not the best concert venues in the world. Therefore to get the opportunity to perform on the stage is something really special indeed. The rehearsal lasted an hour and went very well allowing the orchestra to settle into performing in such a vast arena. It was also an opportunity for the orchestra to rehearse with Dr Joe McKee, who had expertly taken control of one of the largest organs in the world to accompany the orchestra. As the orchestra rehearsed, a crowd of technicians and Albert Hall employees surprisingly gathered to watch. This resulted in some very complimentary comments about the orchestra and the very high standard of performance they had achieved.
In particular Richard Stilgoe who was comparing the concert that night, informed Paul McBride that the CBYO were the finest youth orchestra he had witnessed performing at the Schools Proms in the 22 years he had been comparing them. This was a fact that he repeated to the audience later that night.
Inspired by these comments, we headed back to our hotel for a few hours rest. After changing into concert dress and just about getting everyone served dinner, we headed back to the Royal Albert Hall again for the main event. This time, as the orchestra took to the stage to open the concert, it was before a capacity audience of 6,500 people. The opening item was the iconic Also Sprach Zarathustra fanfare which got the concert off to a great start and was well received.
After performing this the members of the orchestra had the opportunity to watch other ensembles from across the Uk performing including a Wind Band, Jazz band, Bollywood ensemble and a 800 person massed choir. It was great to see the breadth of music making going on across the country and for our young people to be exposed to many different styles of performance. The remainder of the concert seemed to fly by and soon it was time for the CBYO to take to the stage again for the finale. Having won the national competition, the CBYO had been give the main slot of the 3 nights finishing the last night concert. The performance that our young people gave was simply stunning performing Rimsky Korsakov’s Procession of the Nobles and Glinka’s Russlan and Ludmilla superbly. This was met by a rapturous response from the audience however the best was yet to come. For their last item, and as a tradition of this series of concerts, the orchestra played Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No.1. The atmosphere during this was simply electric with Paul McBride conducting 6500 people in the singing of Land of Hope and Glory. As the orchestra came to the end of their performance indoor fireworks, balloons and tickertape were realised. The applause of the crowd was so loud, that you could barely hear a 101 piece symphony orchestra and organ! As you can imagine the young people were walking on air as they came off the stage. At the side of the stage I was greeted by 95 ecstatic CBYO members and one elated conductor, all of who said it was a night they would remember for the rest of their lives! On exiting the Royal Albert Hall, we were met and congratulated by the many parents and family members who had travelled over for the performance. Back at the hotel and after much celebrating, it was time for bed as we had an early start again the next morning. The return journey was long and included a very rough ferry crossing however, no – one seemed to really mind due to the high from the previous night.
In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to the members of orchestra, not only for the performance they gave, but for their impeccable behaviour. They did both the School of Music and the City of Belfast proud. For us to be told that we are one of the best youth orchestras in the UK, is an amazing achievement and one to be exceptionally proud of. I would also like to thank the staff who coached the orchestra and who gave up their time to accompany the CBYO on the trip. In particular the skills of conductor Paul McBride should be acknowledged. His constant desire to inspire the young people to realise their potential and become as professional an ensemble as possible is something special indeed. Finally I would like to once again thank the Friends of the CBYO who transacted all the bookings for this trip and assisted financially and Music for Youth for inviting us to take part. Without the support of these groups the members of the CBYO would not get the opportunity to experience amazing events such as this.
Robert Briscoe - CBYO Manager
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