National orchestra opportunity for young musicians

Friday 20 December 2019

Five young musicians will perform alongside the best from across the British Isles after earning places in the prestigious National Children's Orchestra.

Alex Dorey, George Walker, Joe Stoller, all 13, Ben Davidson and Sam Cole, both 12, have gained places in the much-respected national orchestra, which invites the best musicians in the British Isles up to the age of 14.

Alex and George, who have been selected for the under-14s, have both gained places in previous years and say it is a fantastic experience. 

"I’ve got some really good friends that I have made over the years through the National Children's Orchestra," said Alex. "As a double bass player, it’s good to play with people of the same standard and who are my age."

Ben has also been away with the orchestra before and said it is a great opportunity to hone their skills. 

"We go for about a week and practice for seven hours a day," he said. 

While the youngsters were delighted to learn they had places for a bootcamp either in the spring or summer, with a concert usually taking place later in the year, so too were their teachers who have helped them get this far. 

Sam said: "I called my teacher to tell her after I got the email and she screamed down the phone."

The Music Service and the whole set-up around them is fundamental to their success, the youngsters said. 

Joe said: "I think we are really lucky to have a music centre, we wouldn’t be here without it."

Ben said those opportunities compare favourably with bigger cities across Britain, while George said they could not take the set-up around them for granted. 

"There are other places where it would be hard to get as many music classes as we get in Guernsey," he said. 

The Head of the Music Service, Tim Wright, thanked Education, Sport & Culture for their continued support and investment in the service, which he said promotes both inclusion and excellence. 

He said the young musicians deserved recognition for gaining admission to the NCO, where they will get the opportunity to take their playing to the next level and mix with youngsters with similar musical backgrounds and skillsets to them.

Pictured top: Sam Cole, George Walker, Tim Wright, Alex Dorey, Joe Stoller and Ben Davidson.