On tour with the London Youth Wind Band

In addition to weekly classes every Saturday, Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) organises a range of holiday courses which are open to all young musicians regardless of whether they attend CYM on Saturdays. The London Youth Wind Band (LYWB) is one of these holiday courses, giving students aged 12 – 18 the opportunity to perform a wide range of music, including original works for band and arrangements of classical, film and musical theatre scores in public concerts in London and on tour in the UK and Europe. 

In July 2024 the LYWB set off on tour to Austria, playing concerts in various locations across the country, and getting up to all sorts of non-musical activities including exploring salt mines, going tobogganing and visiting Mozart's house.

We caught up with oboist Cilla (age 14) to find out about her favourite memories of going on tour with the LYWB.

Hi Cilla! How long have you been a member of LYWB and what do you play?

I have been a member of LYWB for three years, I did two years on flute and have now switched to oboe. 

What was your musical highlight from the recent LYWB tour?

My musical highlight from the LYWB tour was playing the concert outside in Austria. It was a little bit chilly but there were so many people watching that it didn’t really matter and everyone had a really fun time. 

What was your non-musical highlight from tour?

My non-musical highlight from tour was going to see the Trick Fountains in Schloss Hellbrun in Saltzburg. It was so interesting to learn about the history and engineering behind them and how the fountains still operated in the same way they had done in the 1500s. 

What was your favourite piece of music that you performed on tour?

My favourite piece of music we played on tour was the soundtrack from LaLa Land. It was played so well by the clarinet and saxophone soloists and sounds so good. 

How was going on tour different to the LYWB concerts at home?

Going on tour was really different to the LYWB concerts at home. Tour definitely provides a space for everyone to get closer (especially on the long coach trips!) and some of the friendships you form on tour stay with you until the next tour. 

I also love how as well as playing lots of really good music in different places we also get to explore and find out about the heritage and culture of the places we visit. It’s always really fun going on tour and exploring places with your friends. 

What is one memory that will stay with you from tour?

One memory that will stay with me from tour was going to a museum on a lunchbreak. We had lunch free to explore in St. Wolfgang (the town in Austria), and me and a couple of friends decided to go to the museum. It turned out it was all about the town and its history, it even had 15th century instruments and 13th century manuscript! It also had the cassocks that one of the popes had worn! Very unexpected but interesting!

Thanks so much Cilla. It's great to hear about the tour!
 

Applications for the London Youth Wind Band are now open, and will close on 11 November 2024.

CYM is part of Guildhall Young Artists, Guildhall School's network of centres that provides inspiring performing and production arts training for children and young people.