Ensemble aims to win

The Early Music Ensemble, made up of several groups from the Warwickshire County Music Service and the Rondo Viol Academy, have worked hard on their ten-minute entries for the National Festival of Music for Youth, the winners of which will perform at the Schools’ Prom in London in the autumn.

Their compositions include music from the Tudor period, as well as modern pieces, tangos performed on viols and a new commission by Rondo Publishing of a piece by Coventry composer Colin Touchin.

Jacqui Robertson-Wade, who leads the Rondo academy and teaches with the county music service, said: “We have put together a programme of contrasting music that shows off all the instruments to their best abilities.

“I have been entering groups into this competition since 2000 and we have got through to regional and national finals.

“This is one last try to get through to the school prom. It’s a fantastic event – as good as the proms but for children. I really want to put Early Music on the map. We have given them a mix of just about everything.”

The musicians, aged between eight and 18, are of varying abilities and play for several groups, including a viol orchestra and a Tudor Band, which performs with instruments from the Renaissance period.

Ms Robertson-Wade said the ensemble had been rehearsing at Bath Place at its Avenue Road site for the past year. The building’s owners Warwickshire College has told the venture it will need to vacate the site to make way for a new development.

Ms Robertson-Wade said: “It’s a really important venue for us. We are extremely concerned about it potentially closing. I cannot think of anywhere else that would be suitable for us. Bath Place’s atrium is fantastically acoustic and large enough for us.”

The next stage of the music competition will be the regional finals held this month, followed by the national finals in July. To find out more, go online.