A whiff of Rio’s carnival spirit came to Birmingham when the National Festival of Music for Youth came to town.
Year 6 pupils from Hamp Junior in Somerset were among performers at the six-day event, sponsored by The TES. The festival, which finishes tomorrow, includes performances by 315 school groups at venues across the city. Dressed in multicoloured outfits, Hamp musicians and dancers performed samba numbers at Birmingham Symphony Hall.
“The pupils loved the costumes,” said teacher Janet Ross. “We’d love to go to the Rio carnival now.”
A group from Shakespeare Primary in Lancashire sang opera in Italian, and a band from Spaldwick School in Cambridgeshire played the ocarina, an ancient woodwind instrument. Withycombe Raleigh Primary from Devon used recycled rubbish as instruments in a high energy performance.
Vicky Walker, National Festival manager, said: “Seeing something different is inspiring for young people.”
www.mfy.org.uk
Photographs: Anita MaricNewsteam.