Supporting the next generation of musicians

With the generous support of the Gaynor Cemlyn-Jones Trust, Ensemble Cymru is supporting Bangor 100 Employability Programme. We’ve been so impressed by Tia and Harry – two music students from Bangor University who have joined us, as part of the Employability Programme for 6 weeks. They’ve been helping with promotion, performances and event management. Our big thanks to our supporters who make opportunities like this possible…. And of course, HUGE thanks to Tia and Harry for their energy and enthusiasm.

2 days in the life of Tia and Harry!

Friday 11th March

It was great to see so many people attend the John Hywel concert in Powis Hall on Friday as part of the Bangor 100 celebrations. As students at Bangor University, it was a great opportunity to hear from past and present Heads of Music at the University. Hearing from John Hywel about his experiences and music was really inspiring.

With how many people attended it was a great opportunity for us, from a front of house point of view, to regulate the number of people in the hall. To be a part of this concert gave us the opportunity to further develop our communication and organisation skills. We couldn’t have done this without the support and help from students and staff of the university who helped us keep the event on track throughout the evening. Whilst working with Ensemble Cymru it was great to work with the musicians involved whilst adapting to their needs on stage. This helped us develop our problem-solving skills.

Saturday 12th March

Saturday was a fun music-making day. Ensemble Cymru invited musicians from across Wales to join in a jamming session, to rehearse and perform La Création Du Monde (a piece of music written 100 years ago) in just three hours!

It was great to see so many members of the community taking part. Being a big part of the organisation of this event made us realise how much time and effort it takes to set up an event like this. Bringing this event together involved communicating with different departments in the university, from Pontio, the music department and campus services.

It was great to see so many students from the University involved playing alongside and gaining feedback from professional musicians. The piece performed (La Création Du Monde by Darius Milhaud) was written 100 years ago which neatly fitted in with the 100th-anniversary theme to the year.

Both days were a success and they were a good starting block for us, learning and understanding how to organise further events in the future. We are looking forward to working on the Mozart concerts in Conwy and Cilcain on the 20th and 21st of March.

Tia Weston
Harry Pascoe