Junior and Youth Band - Tylorstown Band

Junior and Youth Bands

Tylorstown Band are pleased to announce that they now have a Junior Section that meet each Friday 5pm - 6pm please contact us for more information

Rhondda Fach Youth Band was formed in October 2014, the idea of Gary Davies Musical Director of both Tylorstown and Ynyshir Senior Brass Bands. Having seen at first hand the hard work the tutors of both junior bands put into every rehearsal, Gary suggested that the they join forces and work together towards the youth section contests held by both SEWBBA (South East Wales Brass Band Association) and WWBBA (West Wales Brass Band Association) during the year.

The idea was well received and with both bands residing in the Rhondda Fach… the “Rhondda Fach Youth Band” was formed.

It was only weeks before the band was noticed locally and was invited to play its inaugural concert on Thursday 11th December 2014 at St John’s Church in Porth. Here, a mixture of festive arrangements and audience participation pieces made for an excellent start and a fantastic first impression on the packed audience.

Next, the Rhondda Fach Youth Band competed in its first SEWBBA Youth contest in May 2015, where after weeks of hard work and a fantastic performance on the day, a gold award was achieved– a great debut and start to the bands contesting career. Since then the band has competed in a further 3 Youth contests, all of which have seen gold awards being achieved and a further accolade of receiving the youngest player award for 5 year old Noah Davies, the bands up and coming kit percussionist.

The age range of the band is from 6 – 18 and incorporates abilities from absolute beginner to establish youth player. The band also benefit from the experience of senior players from both connected bands offering free tuition. Rehearsals are every Friday evening at 6.30 and alternate between Tylorstown and Ynyshir bandrooms under the direction of Tylorstowns Principle Euphonium Angela Westacott and Ynyshirs Solo Baritone Derek Andrews. The band also benefits from tuition from experienced soloists and players from both senior bands and a watchful eye is cast over many rehearsals by the senior bands musical director Gary Davies.

The band plays all types of Music ranging from Gustav Holsts “Planet Suite” to Pharrell Williams ever popular “Happy”, with the most recent addition being Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” A strong emphasis is placed on selecting music that the youngsters are familiar with, so their interest is always maintained. In addition, a vital role of the youth band is to ensure that young talent is being developed and integrated with the Senior bands where appropriate for the individual, Many of our more experienced Youth players are now part of Ynyshir or Tylorstown Bands Contesting line ups, an opportunity that would have taken longer to achieve without the experience gained through the Youth Band.

Instruments are supplied by both Tylorstown and Ynyshir Bands to every youngster that would like to take part and all music is supplied free of charge. The band is currently self funded but always welcome opportunities for sponsorship and support from local businesses and individuals.

As for the bands future, while it is hoped that there are many more successful years ahead, our mission is that more and more youngsters from within the Rhondda Fach and indeed from all over Wales take up this wonderful opportunity to experience not only playing a brass instrument but how rewarding being part of the brass band movement can be.

Anyone interested in playing for the Rhondda Fach Youth Band, are asked to contact Angela Westacott 07887 954890 or Derek Andrews 07989 113694 or just pop along to the designated bandroom on a Friday night (term time).