IF MUSIC, dance and theatre are right up your street, you’re probably already planning to catch a couple of the hundred or so exciting performances lined up as part of the Granite City’s 38th youth festival.
If not, Aberdeen International Youth Festival artistic director Stewart Aitken would like you to come along anyway, because he’s pretty sure he can change your mind.
Approaching his third festival at the helm and still bursting with enthusiasm about the role, Stewart said: “I think it is important that people give it a real go before they make judgments.
“Some people might think: ‘it’s not for us, I’ve never been to the theatre before, and I wouldn’t like it,’ but I want people to come and try anyway and I guarantee some people will like it and want to come back again next year.
“This is a multi-arts festival and the doors are wide open for people to see something that is of high quality and very exciting.
“You don’t have to know about classical music or dance or theatre to enjoy it.”
Since joining the festival in 2008, Stewart has worked hard to bring it to new and wider audiences by lowering ticket prices, offering multiple ticket discounts and bringing in more daytime performances, many of which are aimed at young people and families.
He said: “Last year, we made two significant changes – to do more daytime shows and cut daytime ticket prices.
“This year, we are going to continue with that in the hope of opening up the doors to even more young people.
“We are keeping prices low, with tickets for daytime shows costing no more than £5, with a £16 family ticket available for all £5 shows.
“Even going down to the beach for the day, you’re probably going to spend more than that.
“If we can get families to attend a 45-minute concert of African dance in the afternoon, then maybe they will come back for an evening show which lasts an hour-and-a-half.
“I’m trying to give people far more choice.”
If last year’s ticket sales are anything to go by, his approach is getting results, with takings on a par with the previous year despite price reductions.
On top of improving access to the festival, Stewart is also dedicated to improving its artistic quality and he believes raising its profile with young Scottish performers is key to that.
He said: “What we want is more Scottish and north-east performers to get involved in it and see it as a platform from which to showcase their talents.
“I would like to see even more groups of even higher quality and it is a real challenge to make sure that happens.”
To these ends, he wants to continue building links with music, dance and drama schools and organisations across the country so he can attract the best young performers to the north-east.
The Chamber Music Project, a new initiative at this year’s festival, is a prime example of this.
The Scottish Arts Council-supported event will bring up to 20 gifted young players from across the country to the city for a week of tuition with members of the Hebrides Ensemble. The group will then put on a performance of what they’ve learned in the Music Hall next Friday evening, August 6.
Stewart hopes this project will develop as successfully as The Splore – the festival’s traditional music school.
He said: “It has just grown and grown, which shows a real resurgence in interest of young people in this kind of music. It has moved away from its Arran-jumper-wearing reputation towards funky ways of wearing your kilt and playing the electric fiddle. We have 45 players taking part this year from all over Scotland who will have five days of tuition with award-winning band Bodega.”
International talent, however, remains a huge mainstay of the festival, which got under way yesterday, and this year promises to be no different.
Stewart said: “We have more groups and individuals coming this year than ever before, with young performers from as far afield as the Far East, Canada and Africa.”
As well as a wide selection of classical, jazz, traditional and world music, there will be some outstanding dance performances from groups such as Hungarian Dance Academy, who are young ballet dancers ready to go into their main professional company, and Zeynep Okçu Ballet School, the Turkish ballet company.
Traditional dance will be on offer from Doina Folk Ensemble, of Romania, and Les Cavaliers du Desert, of Algeria, and New York teenage company Dancewave will be among the more contemporary dance offerings.
There will also be youth theatre from a host of groups including Israel’s Children of the Heart, Kutaisi, from Georgia, and Mitchell School of Drama.
Altogether 1,000 young performers from 22 countries will take part in 100 performances across Aberdeen, and locations as far afield as Inverness, Dunfermline and Perth, by the time the festival draws to a close next Saturday.
There will also be plenty of scope for visitors to Aberdeen city centre to get into the spirit of the festival for free this weekend.
Festival performers will join the spectacular Tartan Day parade down Union Street at 11am on Saturday and the Festival in the City programme will feature free performances from some of the festival’s best at stages throughout the city on Sunday.
For more information visit www.aiyf.org