Upton Jazz Festival (From Hereford Times)

Upton Jazz Festival

2:03pm Thursday 25th June 2009 in

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A YOUNG clarinet quartet from Upton-upon-Severn are among a number of talented young musicians to have been selected at recent auditions to perform on the Best of Young Jazz stage at this year’s Upton Jazz Festival, which runs from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28.

Organisers undertook auditions around Worcestershire to find star musicians and vocalists, in what is a new strand to this year’s festival.

The Hanley Clarinet Quartet impressed the judges with their skillful playing.

All four members are pupils at Hanley Castle High School, which will also be hosting a jazz masterclass with professional musician Steve Berry who will teach the youngsters aspects of jazz improvisation.

In addition, pupils from Hanley Castle will work with Steve Berry at the festival, when they will continue developing their skills and perform to an audiences.

Best of Young Jazz is working with schools and partners across Worcestershire to encourage young jazz players and create an opportunity for them to perform on a professional stage. The project involves several hundred children from schools and youth groups across the county.

Best of Young Jazz will have a dedicated marquee and stage throughout the festival weekend.

As well as local youngsters, the venue will boast some of the UK’s hottest young jazz talent with young performers from across the UK.

Now in its 24th year, the Upton Jazz Festival has won a reputation for being one of the UK’s leading jazz festivals. Focusing on the traditional jazz style, the festival has an international outlook and has programmed musicians from the all over the world including the United States, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary and France, with about 10,000 jazz fans expected to attend this year’s event.

For further information and booking details, visit the website uptonjazz.co.uk.