City and county ensembles
In addition to ensemble activities organised by individual schools and area music centres, we centrally provides the following ensemble opportunities:
City and County Youth Orchestra
For players who have achieved at least Grade six standard.
The orchestra meets for two residential courses during the year at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick.
The next course is 12-14 February 2012.
Entry is by auditions, which are held twice a year. The orchestra is directed by Peter Stark, Leverhulme Professor of Conducting to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
The Derbyshire City and County Youth Orchestra won the 'Large Music Ensemble' category at the Buxton Festival Fringe Awards July 2009.
Auditions were held in November 2011.
Listen to the Derbyshire City and County Youth Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italian Op.45. In order to play this audio file, you will need audio software and speakers.
The link will open your audio software. You can download free audio software if it isn't available on your computer. Simply visit Winamp (opens in a new window). This audio file is 939kb and will run for one minute and 19 seconds.
City and County Youth Wind Band
For players who have achieved at least Grade six standard.
The band rehearses on one Sunday morning each month at The Hayes Conference Centre Swanwick.
The band is directed by Colin Touchin, former Director of Music at the University of Warwick.
Auditions will be held on Wednesday 20 July 2011 in the evening at the Hays Conference Centre, Swanwick.
Listen to the Derbyshire City and County Youth Wind Band playing Stephenson's Rocket by Nigel Hess. In order to play this audio file, you will need audio software and speakers.
The link will open your audio software. You can download free audio software if it isn't available on your computer. Simply visit Winamp (opens in a new window). This audio file is 362kb and will run for 23 seconds.
City and County Intermediate Youth Orchestra
For players who are working at Grade four − Grade six level (the limited number of wind places means that brass and woodwind players are usually of grade six standard, but strings and percussion grades four − six).
This orchestra meets for two residential courses during the year at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick.
The next course is on 12-14 February 2012.
Players are invited to apply for the residential course, and applicants are selected based on information provided in their application forms.
The tutors
The tutors for the city and county activities are experienced instrumental teachers who work with the director of music of each ensemble to provide high-quality rehearsal and performance opportunities for Derbyshire young musicians up to the age of 21.
Related documents
The following documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)
The following document is in Word format. You can download the Word software for free from the Word viewer page (opens in a new window) of the Microsoft website.