Enderby Youth Band and Youth Brass 2000 recently played a key part in the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics, held in the Walkers Stadium, Leicester.

Task

Composer Tim Steiner, was given the task of combining the best of Leicestershire with the spirit of the Special Olympics, to write a specially commissioned fanfare to herald the official opening of the games.

As a result the two bands were invited to combine with the brass and percussion sections of the Philharmonia Orchestra and around 40 children from special schools in Leicester.

Huge event

The Opening Ceremony was a huge event – around 22,000 people, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, witnessed a four hour spectacular of music and dancing.

Enderby Youth, under the direction of Trevor Hounsome and Youth Brass 2000, conducted by Pete Collins were delighted to each perform solo items to accompany the entrance of the athletes.

The young musicians of both bands thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the experience of working with the professionals from the OrchestraSpokesperson

Appreciative

More used to the friendly rivalry of contests, the two bands were very supportive and appreciative of each others standards of performance.

The fanfare was well received by the large crowd – the remarkable precision achieved by the newly trained percussionists from the Special schools provided a strong foundation for the combined Brass section, and provided an inspiring and appropriate opening to the Games.

Enjoyed

A spokesperson told 4BR: "The young musicians of both bands thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the experience of working with the professionals from the Orchestra, and it is hoped this will lead to further collaborations with the Philharmonia in the future."