Review: Yorkshire Young Sinfonia at Leeds Town Hall, Saturday, August 20

ARTS entrepreneur David Taylor's passion for music education has created in Yorkshire Young Sinfonia (YYS) an annual residency for aspiring Yorkshire musicians. The young people take part in workshops led by their inspirational conductor, Tom Hammond and they are tutored by renowned instrumentalists. Last year's inaugural performance was given to great acclaim at York's Barbican Centre.

YYS has just 46 musicians and must still be regarded as a fledgling project; but it is an immensely laudable one. The standard of ensemble is not yet consistently on a par with (say) the illustrious National Youth Orchestra or the National Children's Orchestras but could be, given optimum rehearsal conditions. That, of course, is contingent on a proportion of public funding. Saint-Saens' Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila and the faster sections of Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet sounded under rehearsed.

The world premiere of Eldar Babayev's symphonic poem Pondering of Future doubtless demanded a lion's share of preparation time. This inventive piece is a showcase for every section of the orchestra. These enthusiastic young musicians surmounted the challenges of Babayev's score with panache.

Stephen Hough's dazzling command of the keyboard in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini inspired the musicians to some of the finest playing of the whole evening. Later on, Malcolm Arnold's Flourish for Orchestra and the Andantino Festivo of Sibelius were played with complete assurance.

A warm and enthusiastic audience noisily demonstrated their appreciation. Quotes such as "YYS has opened up so many doors for me as a musician and as a person", surely speak for themselves. Investment in music education is every bit as important as investment in sport education.

by Geoffrey Mogridge