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. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

'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 Queen's Cross Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is located at the intersection of Carden Place and Albyn Place, at Queen's Cross in the heart of Aberdeen's west end business community. It is a short walk from the main shop ...

) 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 Aberdeen City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for Aberdeen City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Aberdeen was formerly governed by a municipal corporation, corporat ...

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 Stephen Mark Bailey , known professionally as Stephen Stenning, joined the British Council in 2011 as Director Arts Middle East North Africa. He is currently British Council's Director Culture and Development in which role he set up and oversees t ...

was appointed. Developments during this time include the creation of Grampian Youth Orchestra. In 2007 Stewart Aitken, formerly Artistic Director of

Wigan Pier Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of the town centre. The name has humorous or ironic connotations since it conjures an image of a seaside pleasure pier, whereas Wigan i ...

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 Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...

, the project aspired to continue her work, providing new challenges and performances for young singers. Conceived by Artistic Director

Gidon Saks Gidon Saks (born 15 January 1960) is an Israeli-born South African bass-baritone. Education Saks grew up in South Africa. His father was a first generation South African of Lithuanian descent. His mother was Scottish of Ukrainian extraction. He ...

, 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 (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'', ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'', ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 gothic horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' from January 27 to April 16, 1898. On October 7, 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', publis ...

'' and ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

''.

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 Berlin Philharm ...

Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company () is a Ukrainian dance company based in Edmonton, Alberta and a leader of Ukrainian dance in Canada . It was founded in 1969 by Chester and Luba Kuc and named after the Cheremosh River that separates the parts ...

Kyung-wha Chung Kyung Wha Chung (; born 26 March 1948) is a South Korean violinist. Early years and education Kyung Wha Chung was born in Seoul as the middle of the seven children in her family. Her father was an exporter, and her mother ran a restaurant. She ...

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

Zaira Cosico Zaira Cosico is a ballerina from the Philippines. She is one of a few successful scholars of Liza Macuja's dance company, Ballet Manila. She first learned to dance at the Halili Cruz School of Dance. Cosico has been instructed in the Vaganova me ...

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

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 i ...

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

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

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julia ...

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, al ...

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rat ...

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-born American 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. H ...

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

Patrons

Patrons of the festival included - * The

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

of the City of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

* The Honourable The Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair * Dame

Lisa Milne Lisa Milne (born 22 April 1971 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish soprano described by the BBC as "one of RSAMD's best-known alumni", who was among the first artists to be invited to the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme in 1999–2001. Known f ...

CBE

References

External links

Aberdeen International Youth Festival

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