Musicians in tune for Ludlow concert

Close to 100 musicians from 11 countries have gathered in Shropshire this week to form the BISYOC Symphony Orchestra.

The 85 young musicians, including members from Shropshire as well as places such as Hungary, Portugal, Malta and Norway, will be joined by a 60-strong choir of volunteers from the region at performances at Ludlow's St Laurence's Church tomorrow and Leominster Priory on Sunday.

The orchestra is currently doing intensive rehearsals at Moor Park School in Richards Castle, near Ludlow.

Julian Gibbons, who founded the orchestra in 2001, said: "The theme is in memory of the First World War, we are playing a Dirge for Two Veterans by Vaughan Williams, who served as a medic in the trenches, and Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem.

"It's going very well but it always takes time to get the different pieces together."

"Each year we have 40 or 50 per cent return and the rest are new people," he said.

"Some musicians have been coming for many years, since they were 15."

Mr Gibbons was inspired to start the orchestra after taking part in a similar project – the Ernest Reed Music Association course, now known as the European Youth Summer Music course based in Sussex.

Jim Pywell, exchange co-ordinator, said the orchestra was about more than just the performance, however. "For me the thing that makes BISYOC unique is that it's so much about the cultural exchange as well," he said.

He said one of the highlights had been an international food night. as part of the programme of activities at Moor Park.

"They brought recipes with them and some have brought ingredients – and they cook and cook for about three hours and at the end of the night we have a huge feast in the hall.

"I've been involved with a number of music course and there aren't any others where there's such a cultural mix. There's something about this number of people all living together for ten days that creates this incredible energy," he said.