A gallery of photos from a recent Play Day held in Dumfries to encourage new members to join the orchestra. Click on the pictures to see them in full!

After an enforced gap of 18 months (during which we did the best we could online) DGYO got back together on 21 August 2021 in the assembly hall of St Joseph's College, Dumfries.  Thanks to Dumfries and Galloway Council, the school, and Graham the janitor for helping us to get going once more.

We had lost some original players who had gone to university or left the area.  But we have also gained some new players.  Welcome to all! 

And talking of new players please spread the word that DGYO welcomes all young players of orchestral instruments who live, work or study in Dumfries and Galloway and we offer opportunities for all levels of experience.  The orchestra is free to join and travelling expenses are available.

We're very pleased to report that we've been fortunate to recruit another trustee Joshua Ellicott.

Josh is a professional musician, performing worldwide as a tenor soloist in opera, concert and as a recitalist. He sings in some of the world’s greatest venues with the finest conductors and orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Centre New York, The Hallé Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He has made his home, along with his family, in Dumfries and Galloway and is delighted to be a trustee of the Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra.

Josh's own musicianship has its roots in his native Lancashire where he sang and played a number of instruments in church, school and in the home and he delights to see young people sharing in the opportunities that he had. He benefitted greatly from the Council-funded peripatetic instrumental tuition that he received. He wishes to be an advocate for bringing high quality classical music to today’s young people, to help to combat the sad decline of music education, and to promote understanding of the advantages of making music within our schools and in our culture.

Josh is keen to see the young people of the DGYO experience the joy of fun and friendship as they pursue musical excellence and the satisfaction of seeing the beauty that they create touch the lives of audience members and players alike.

Like every other musical organisation all DGYO group activities have had to be stopped while we all cope with the Coronavirus.  Well, perhaps not all!  A few weeks ago our young players were set a challenge.  Those of them who were up for it were asked to record their orchestral parts from the wonderful BBC 10 Pieces arrangement of Henry Purcell's Rondeau from his suite of incidental music for the play Abdelazer.  Many of our players rose brilliantly to the challenge and this recording is the result.  

Incredible performances, hard work and leadership - Wow, that was great today, Well done all and thank you, you were brilliant!  The Dumfries and Galloway Youth Orchestra is going from strength to strength and we hope everyone who came along enjoyed our concert as much as we enjoyed performing.  Huge thanks to all those individuals and organisations that help and support the orchestra and who make it all possible.

The Absolute Classics Young Person’s concert gave some members of the DGYO the opportunity  to play before an informed and discerning audience at the Buccleuch and Queensberry Hotel in Thornhill. 

On 28th July 2019 a chamber group from the DGYO played at the Burn's Society concert in the Faed Gallery at the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse.  They played a variety of music, Scottish traditional,  classical and jazz,  to a packed audience who were thrilled by the entertainment.  There were duets from Vanessa Ho, Erin Findlay and Fraser Hannah who all played wonderfully.  Our thanks to them for volunteering to perform.

Members of the DGYO were very happy and proud after performing to the public for the first time as part of a concert given by the Solway Sinfonia in the Heughan Hall, Dalbeattie, on 16 June 2019. The concert was called ‘New Beginnings’ to reflect a new youth orchestra, a new venue, and a new conductor for the Solway Sinfonia.