Bewdley Youth Festival

Bewdley Youth Festival (BYF) became active in September 2012 under the guidance of the long established annual Bewdley Festival.

The aims of the Youth Festival are to:

• Provide a platform and opportunities to encourage young people to gain the confidence to demonstrate their skills and talents.
• Provide inspirational experiences and practical demonstrations to enhance young musicians’ self-confidence, self-reliance and responsibility.
• Improve social cohesion by bringing together local voluntary groups to work more closely with each other for the benefit of the young people of Bewdley and the Wyre Forest District.
• Increase awareness of the arts in the community and the potential benefits of involvement.
• Enhance civic pride and a sense of belonging to the community in which they learn and live.

Among the activities to achieve those aims Bewdley Youth Festival has:

Organised, funded and managed Music and Art Workshops for local secondary and primary schools run by professional artists and practitioners with the aim of giving young people a fresh perspective on the performing arts as a career.

Been a principal organiser of events at the annual Hopfest Family Music Festival, and you can read more about these through the link

Provided performance opportunities for young musicians on the same bills as professional musicians in conjunction with the team of volunteers at St. George’s Hall’s Music in the Hall programme

Created and funded opportunities for young musicians to record their own compositions as part of the Music in the Hall series of compilation albums.

Organised the annual Wyre Forest Young Musician of the Year competition.

This is not an exhaustive list but gives a flavour of what Bewdley Youth Festival has achieved over the years.

The intention is to continue the progress made. We will engage with local schools, organisations with a shared interest and professional artists. We will continue to organise musical events. We will be a hub bringing together young musicians, expertise and local venues so as to provide opportunities for performing asa well as providing advice, guidance and support.

Bewdley Youth Festival will also work with the main Festival to present events for young people and families and to offer opportunities for young acts.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of a number of benefactors, and our thanks is extended to:

• The Elmley Foundation
• The Helen Rachael Mackaness Charitable Trust
• The Roger and Douglas Turner Charitable Trust
• Bewdley Festival
• Bewdley Town Council
• Kidderminster and District Lions Club
• The Rotary Club of Bewdley