HMYF Instrumental Day 2024

We had a wonderful and enjoyable day at the HMYF Instrumental Session on Saturday 9th November. We were in the beautiful setting of St Paul’s church, which has lovely acoustics and a fab grand piano – and a decent heating system. There was a celebratory feeling from the start.

When we took the decision to save the charity from closure back in 2018, we didn’t realise how much was involved, nor that lockdown would follow shortly after. The new trustees, myself, Jane Jackson and Gwyn Mason, had a lot to sort out, including gaining access to the bank account, making sure we met the requirements of the membership body (BIFF) and tracking down teachers who might encourage their pupils to enter. We decided to separate the “sections” on to different dates, put the admin online, and test out whether we should become non-competitive. We finally held our first session in March 2023 – and we haven’t looked back.

“Putting the admin online” was easier said than done, and we were very lucky to be joined this year by a fourth trustee Mackenzie Paget, who has worked so hard putting this day together, devising a new website and getting it up and running. It has saved hours of work. He even persuaded it to print the beautiful certificates awarded to all our performers.

Saturday began, like all musical events, with a spot of furniture moving! But soon the signs were stuck on the doors, the covers were off the piano and eager performers began arriving.

Altogether through the day we had more than fifty children and young people performing for us and an appreciative audience, on piano, violin and brass. It was thrilling. As you would expect given the variations in age and experience, the music chosen covered a wide range of composers, styles and technical difficulty. But the performers were all well prepared and played their pieces all through – and it was obvious how much delight they had in pulling it off.

We should never under-estimate how terrifying it can be to give a live performance, especially for the first time. But the beauty of a non-competitive format was that if someone made a false start, or got a little lost, they could start again or get a bit of help.

A very big thank you to Martin Wallington for all his hard work, his excellent adjudication and his helpful and positive comments to all the performers. And to Tim Kennedy our accompanist for his wonderful and supportive playing. Most of all we want to thank all the children and young people who have taken part today, and the parents and teachers who encourage them and work so hard with them.

Alex Whinnom

Dates for your diary we will be running a Choral Day on March 7th 2025 and a Vocal Day on March 8th 2025. Information will be put up on our Facebook page and our Website