YMM at the RCM Festival of Percussion

18 May 2019

YMM's Percussion tutor, Sam Howes invited our drumline, brass and wind players to perform at the Royal College of Music.

In his own words...

The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion is a huge celebration of everything hit-able! Hundreds of budding young drummers and families flock to the RCM to visit masterclasses, trade stalls and witness fantastic music making from an array of professional percussionists. This year included the Royal Marines Band, BBC Symphony Orchestra percussion section and our headline act, world famous drummer, Tommy Igoe.

As a final year student at the RCM, my role in this event includes performing in various classes throughout the day, hauling a tremendous number of large instruments around and, this year, bringing some wonderful YMM musicians along too. Both YMM drumlines and brass and wind players took part in the morning junior showcase. This is part of the day where percussion ensembles come from across the country to perform to each other and a panel to gain performance experience and receive feedback from a new set of eyes and ears.

Preparation for this day began way back in October with a Box 9 Drumline workshop. After a busy afternoon with them, we came away excited about drumline and already off to a great start with Drums, Poms and Brogles, which Box 9 had kindly rearranged especially for us. After that, Drumline and Junior Jazz rehearsed separately until coming back together ready for our Easter concert. As a tutor, it’s impossible not to feel nervous when the time comes to put two ensembles together just before concert day… But thanks to everyone's hard work, we pulled it off with a few spare weeks before the big day.

Finally the day came…. And we smashed it! Amongst a very hectic day for me, I was proud to wear my YMM hat for part of it. Playing in an unfamiliar venue to an audience of peers is a scary task but every one of our musicians did a fantastic job and as a result we received some great feedback! I hope that everyone gained not only from playing but from watching other stunning young percussionists perform and being part of something bigger than just our own little world - I think that’s what music is all about! (And if you managed to leave with a bag of annoying little percussion instruments too, then what a great bonus!)

Huge thanks to Sam for offering our students such a wonderful opportunity!