Youngsters ready to showcase skills at Whitby's Eskdale Festival of the Arts
Whitby’s Eskdale Festival of the Arts gets under way at Whitby Pavilion on Tuesday March 4 – and continues until the Gala Concert on Saturday March 15.
This year begins with poetry and drama classes for the youngest competitors on Tuesday March 4, with secondary school students competing on Wednesday March 5 .
Wednesday afternoon sees the return of the dance classes, with prepared group dance, solo audition-style competition, and supported dance.
Secondary school music begins on Thursday 6, with well-supported piano competition in the morning, followed by instrumental groups and vocalists in the afternoon.
On Friday 7, there are instrumental solos and vocal solos for the senior pupils.
Band Day takes place on Saturday 8, with a wide range of age groups and ability levels.
All the ensembles from Whitby Music Centre will take part, and this year will be joined by Jazz Train and EASY Concert Band from Scarborough Music Centre. The morning starts at 9.30am.
The second week of the festival features children from primary schools.
Monday 10 will have performances on the guitar, followed by choirs from small primary schools.
The afternoon features pianists playing solos and duets.
Monday evening will have demonstrations of family music making with piano duets and ensembles, together with Christmas in March (unique to the Eskdale Festival) and, for the first time in many years, a movement from a concerto, in this case Bruch’s violin concerto.
Young instrumentalists get their chance to shine on Tuesday, as woodwind, brass and string soloists take to the concert platform.
They are followed by choirs from large schools and vocal solos and duets.
The competitive part of the festival concludes on Wednesday 12 with recorders, mixed ensembles and Class Bands.
Tickets for the competitions will be available at the Pavilion and will cost £2 for a full day.
Programmes with full details of all the classes will be on sale for £2.
The Gala Concert, sponsored by Boyes and Co, takes place on Saturday 15 and starts at 6pm.
It will feature the best performances of the two weeks, tickets £6.
Art works produced by schools and individuals will be on display throughout the festival.
There are opportunities for volunteer stewards to help – contact Sue and David Rowland on [email protected].