Young musicians and special guests perform first concert at new Saddleworth School

THE historic first concert at the new Saddleworth School in Diggle brought together talented local young musicians as well as special guests from Norway for an evening of brass.

A 200-strong audience enjoyed the ‘Celebration of Youth’ event in the school’s main hall on April 28.

The evening featured Saddleworth School Brass Band, Dobcross Youth Band, Delph Youth Band, and the brass ensemble of Manger Folkhogskule from Bergen.

The eclectic programme included ‘Hail Smiling Morn’, Pharell Williams’ ‘Happy’, music from James Bond films, and a medley featuring the music of the Beatles.

Manger Folkhogskule gave commanding performances of ‘The Muppet Show Theme’, an original work by Dennis Wright titled ‘Sonatina’ and ‘The Camptown Races’.

Saddleworth School student Angus Rowan (year 11) featured as a soloist with Dobcross Youth Band in a performance of the challenging and popular Trombone solo ‘The Acrobat’.

Also included was the highly popular ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ from the Disney film ‘Encanto’ and the concert finished with the Randy Newman classic ‘A Friend Like Me ‘ from the Pixar film Toy Story.

Mr Beckwith, Curriculum Leader of Music, said: “It was fabulous to hold the first concert in our new home in Diggle.

“As our headteacher Mr Anderson stated at the concert, it was wonderful to be back making live music with a supportive and appreciative audience to support our wonderful young musicians.

“A special thank you to all staff who helped run this successful evening and to the fantastic audience who attended and finally, a huge thank you to all the talented musicians who performed.

“The standard from each of the four different ensembles was first class and the audience was royally entertained.

“The Music Department really enjoyed creating this opportunity to showcase our gifted young students and are already planning further exciting events.”

The concert was recorded by Oldham Community Radio (99.7fm) and will be broadcast at 7.30pm on Wednesday, May 4 for those who could not attend on the night but would like to listen to the whole event.