Youth Music Festival Celebrates Another Successful Year

It has been another momentous year for Oswestry’s Youth Music Festival, with over 452 performances and over 1000 talented young people taking part in the 5-day event.

The finals concert was held on Sunday 5^th March at Christ Church. Winners from various categories were asked to perform again for the chance to win a further trophy and a sponsored bursary.

The festival has been running for over 40 years and is a true celebration of youth music. It includes a broad range of classes including string, woodwind, brass, piano, percussion, instrumental, vocal, choir and band. Performances were held across three venues on Chapel Street at Christ Church, Hermon Arts, and the Methodist Church.

The finals concert started at 2pm in Christ Church and was later followed by the presentation of the week’s trophies by Oswestry Town Mayor, Councillor Jay Moore.

There were two special awards from this year’s festival: – Chris Hughes, a longstanding volunteer, was the inaugural recipient of the Metcalfe Award for services to the festival, an award made in fond memory of Alan and Eileen Metcalfe, who sadly passed away in December. Kyle Thomas was the winner of this year’s Cherrington Award, not only for his singing, but also for his commitment to the festival and his understanding of its ethos.

Other trophy winners from finals day included Hay Lok who won the ‘Young Performer of the Year’ and played the cello in the 12 & under category. Thea Ormrod won the ‘Gull Award’ for her performance on the trumpet in the 15 & under category and Kizzy Lumley-Edwards won the ‘Town Council Cup’ for her singing in the 21 & under category.

Oswestry Town Mayor, Councillor Jay Moore comments. “Well done to everyone who took part and made this festival such a fantastic experience. The final performances were superb – we are certainly blessed with a lot of young talent. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.”