Aberdeen International Youth Festival was a festival of performing arts and one of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

's major international cultural events, which ran from 1981 to 2017. Each year the festival brought over 1000 young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the globe. It provided a showcase for their talents, bringing them together with professionals and artists. As well as the ticketed events the Festival staged a parade, open-air performances and a fringe programme in community venues. A programme attracted over 30,000 people to more than seventy events throughout north east Scotland each year. Concerts, dance shows and galas in Aberdeen were held in venues such as His Majesty's Theatre, The Music Hall and The Lemon Tree as well as smaller venues such as churches (such as Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen) and also featured a touring programme taking events to rural venues. The AIYF programme included symphony orchestras and steel bands, song recitals and jazz, traditional music, world music, ballet, contemporary and traditional dance. The festival also produced an opera, ( Opera Garden) as well as performances developed by the participating companies working together over the course of the Festival. In November 2017 it was announced that

Aberdeen City Council gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

was to cease funding the event. In March 2018, it was announced that the festival trust was to be wound up.

History

Aberdeen had hosted the International Festival of Youth Orchestras from 1973 to 1980. A dispute between the managers and the local organising committee regarding the participation of South African performers resulted in the event moving to Exeter. At the same time, the local organising committee in Aberdeen began a new incarnation of the event, the Aberdeen International Festival of Music and the Performing Arts. In 1983 the name was changed to Aberdeen International Youth Festival. In 2003 the Festival established a full-time office base in Aberdeen and a new Chief Executive, Stephen Stenning was appointed. Developments during this time include the creation of Grampian Youth Orchestra. In 2007 Stewart Aitken, formerly Artistic Director of Wigan Pier Theatre Company became the Chief Executive.

Opera Garden

Opera Garden was the Aberdeen International Youth Festival's Opera Project. Named after the Aberdonian opera singer, Mary Garden, the project aspired to continue her work, providing new challenges and performances for young singers. Conceived by Artistic Director Gidon Saks, the project brought together young singers from across the world and in three weeks produced a full-scale opera production. Opera Garden staged '' Così fan tutte'', ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'', '' Don Giovanni'', '' Carmen'', '' The Magic Flute'', '' Falstaff'', ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...

'' and ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

''.

AIYF Dance School

The Festival's Dance Summer School ran for 25 years and welcomed teachers from major schools and companies worldwide including the

Paris Opera Ballet School The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

and the Kirov and Bolshoi companies. A Dance Summer School was held annually as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. The school offered an intensive course in dance for students aged 12–16, a performance course for advanced level students in full-time training for a career in dance, a music theatre course and a 'taster day' for younger dance students.

Some notable people that have appeared at the festival

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

* Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company * Kyung-wha Chung *

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

* Zaira Cosico *

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

* Julian Lloyd Webber * Magnus Magnusson * Simon Rattle *

José Serebrier José Serebrier (born 3 December 1938) is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation. Early life Serebrier was born in Montevideo to Russian and Polish parents of Jewish extraction. He fi ...

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

* The University of the Philippines Concert Chorus * The Philippine Baranggay Folk Dance Troupe

Patrons

Patrons of the festival included - * The Lord Provost of the City of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

* The Honourable The Marchiness of Aberdeen and Temair * Dame

* Lisa Milne CBE

References

External links

Aberdeen International Youth Festival

AIYF Dance School
{{Aberdeen Arts festivals in Scotland Culture in Aberdeen Scottish culture Performing arts in Scotland Music festivals in Scotland Annual events in Scotland