We were excited to be back at Brighton Festival for Children's Parade, the Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra's annual performance at Brighton Dome Concert Hall, and brand new, youth-curated event, 'Sounds Like Us'
On Monday 2 May, brass and percussion students from Create Music paraded alongside 50 local schools under the theme 'Read All About It!' as part of the 40th Children's Parade, inspired by the National Year of Reading. It was great to see Create Music students and staff fill the streets with music as part of the 5000-person parade co-produced with Same Sky.
On Monday 11 May, the Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra played a fantastic concert at the Brighton Dome Concert Hall with soloist Curtis Phill Hsu, winner of the Hastings International Piano Competition 2024. The orchestra played Rachmaninoff's iconic Piano Concerto No.2 with Hsu as their soloist alongside Ethel Smyth's Wreckers Overture, LeFanu's Airs and Fanfares, and Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre featuring student soloist Will.
On Sunday 24 May, we were excited to launch the debut 'Sounds Like Us', our new youth-curated and youth-led takeover of Brighton Dome Studio Theatre where young people took inspiration from music and culture from the 1960s to create new visual art, poetry and music. Led by young creative professionals from Create Music and Future Creators, and devised and curated by a youth panel of five local creatives aged 18-25, Sounds Like Us culminated in two fantastic events. The day kicked off with an impressive visual art exhibition featuring film, photography and painting from 5 local artists aged 18-25, and then moved into an electric evening of music, poetry and performance, featuring a diverse line-up of poetry, monologues, singer-songwriters, and bands. Both events were spectacular, and it was amazing to see the incredible local, young talent lead the way.
Congratulations to all the students who took part and contributed to a fantastic Brighton Festival - we look forward to the next one!
