DG Youth Orchestra
Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra

DGYO in 2022-23

We do hope that all our players enjoyed the return of DGYO to more normal activities in the 2021-22 season.  We're all going to have a well earned break now until the autumn.  However we're already starting to plan for next season and we thought it would be good to let you know what we hope will happen in 2022-23.

Play Day in Dumfries

A gallery of photos from a recent Play Day held in Dumfries to encourage new members to join the orchestra. Click on the pictures to see them in full!

The Return of Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra!

After an enforced gap of 18 months (during which we did the best we could online) DGYO got back together on 21 August 2021 in the assembly hall of St Joseph's College, Dumfries.  Thanks to Dumfries and Galloway Council, the school, and Graham the janitor for helping us to get going once more.

We had lost some original players who had gone to university or left the area.  But we have also gained some new players.  Welcome to all! 

And talking of new players please spread the word that DGYO welcomes all young players of orchestral instruments who live, work or study in Dumfries and Galloway and we offer opportunities for all levels of experience.  The orchestra is free to join and travelling expenses are available.

New Trustee For DGYO

We're very pleased to report that we've been fortunate to recruit another trustee Joshua Ellicott.

Josh is a professional musician, performing worldwide as a tenor soloist in opera, concert and as a recitalist. He sings in some of the world’s greatest venues with the finest conductors and orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Centre New York, The Hallé Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He has made his home, along with his family, in Dumfries and Galloway and is delighted to be a trustee of the Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra.

Josh's own musicianship has its roots in his native Lancashire where he sang and played a number of instruments in church, school and in the home and he delights to see young people sharing in the opportunities that he had. He benefitted greatly from the Council-funded peripatetic instrumental tuition that he received. He wishes to be an advocate for bringing high quality classical music to today’s young people, to help to combat the sad decline of music education, and to promote understanding of the advantages of making music within our schools and in our culture.

Josh is keen to see the young people of the DGYO experience the joy of fun and friendship as they pursue musical excellence and the satisfaction of seeing the beauty that they create touch the lives of audience members and players alike.

DGYO in lockdown - remote performance

Like every other musical organisation all DGYO group activities have had to be stopped while we all cope with the Coronavirus.  Well, perhaps not all!  A few weeks ago our young players were set a challenge.  Those of them who were up for it were asked to record their orchestral parts from the wonderful BBC 10 Pieces arrangement of Henry Purcell's Rondeau from his suite of incidental music for the play Abdelazer.  Many of our players rose brilliantly to the challenge and this recording is the result.  

Another successful public concert for the orchestra

Incredible performances, hard work and leadership - Wow, that was great today, Well done all and thank you, you were brilliant!  The Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra is going from strength to strength and we hope everyone who came along enjoyed our concert as much as we enjoyed performing.  Huge thanks to all those individuals and organisations that help and support the orchestra and who make it all possible.

Dumfries Christmas Lights - 1 December 2019

On Sunday 1 December 2019 Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra started off the Dumfries festivities leading up to the ceremony of switching on the town centre Christmas lights.  Ably directed by Jane Hainey the orchestra performed in sub zero temperatures on the Plainstanes in front of the Mid Steeple.  

Music at an Exhibition

Congratulations to members of the DGYO that took part in "Music at an Exhibition", on Saturday at Kirkcudbright Galleries.  It was a wonderful afternoon, with pieces selected to pay tribute to the work and life of John Faed.  The music included Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Espana by Chabrier and Holst's Jupiter. Before concluding with a good selection of Scottish ballads and reels a string quartet played Bonnie Gallowa, which was beautifully sung by Josephine Pallinder.
It was such a fun afternoon, with a super audience and terrific for the orchestra to have the opportunity to play in the new gallery.  Our thanks to the Gallery for your support.
A recording of the concert is available here.

Burns Society Concert In Gatehouse of Fleet

On 28th July 2019 a chamber group from the DGYO played at the Burn's Society concert in the Faed Gallery at the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse.  They played a variety of music, Scottish traditional,  classical and jazz,  to a packed audience who were thrilled by the entertainment.  There were duets from Vanessa Ho, Erin Findlay and Fraser Hannah who all played wonderfully.  Our thanks to them for volunteering to perform.

Although the main aim of DGYO is to rehearse and perform classical orchestral music as a full orchestra, invitations to players to perform in small groups provide the opportunity to play at different venues throughout Dumfries and Galloway.  More importantly they challenge and stretch young players musically in ways that playing in a full orchestra cannot.  We shall continue to look for opportunities for varied small groups of players to demonstrate their skills throughout the region.
 

DGYO Concert at Dalbeattie 16 June 2019

Members of the DGYO were very happy and proud after performing to the public for the first time as part of a concert given by the Solway Sinfonia in the Heughan Hall, Dalbeattie, on 16 June 2019. The concert was called ‘New Beginnings’ to reflect a new youth orchestra, a new venue, and a new conductor for the Solway Sinfonia.

DGYO Logo Competition Awards

The DGYO is delighted to announce the winner of its logo competition. Bethany Platt from Thornhill was chosen as the winner in a process that involved the orchestra, Ken Smyth and Gyllian Dickson, with the final adjudication of the final five entries by Anne Ramsbottom, Curator of the Kirkcudbright Gallery and Dame Barbara Kelly.  Second prize was awarded to Edie Wright from Kirkcudbright Academy.