Biggest Youth Proms in Birmingham returns

The Royal Marines ' Corps of Drums - who opened the Platinum Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace - are this week joining some 4,000 Birmingham children at Symphony Hall in what is believed to be the biggest ever Youth Proms the city has ever seen.

Services For Education 's Birmingham Youth Proms 2022 will mark both the tenth anniversary of the Birmingham charity that organises the Youth Proms and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which open just days later.

The Youth Proms opened last night and run until Thursday 21 July.

In addition to performances by Central Ensembles, featuring 1,000 musicians from city schools, a new School Ensemble - drawing young people from 75 Birmingham schools and established during the pandemic - will perform together for the first time at Symphony Hall.

Some 350 schoolchildren will also perform as part of the Birmingham Schools Primary Choir and the recently formed Soundabout Inclusive Choir - that celebrates that everyone, no matter their abilities or disabilities, has their own way of sharing their voice - will take to the Symphony Hall stage for the first time.

The concert series will also include the first performances of Come Together Everybody - a song for choirs, commissioned by Services For Education with the support of The Lunar Society, using words from Her Majesty The Queen's messages to The Commonwealth in previous Commonwealth Games.

Other guests include Bollywood Brass Band - who combine traditional music from India with Bollywood glamour - and The Dionysus Ensemble, which is featuring in the Birmingham 2022 Festival for the Commonwealth Games.

The Ensemble 's Artistic Director, L�onie Adams, is an alumnus of Birmingham 's Music Service which now forms part of Services For Education.

The Dionysus Ensemble was a recipient of a 2021 Royal Philharmonic Society Award and selected by The British Council to represent the UK in their Australia Season in 2022.

All guest bands are working with Birmingham schools and school children to inspire the next generation of musicians.

Services For Education 's Birmingham Youth Proms are supported by Arts Council England, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, The Lunar Society, and Printigo Ltd.

Tickets, priced at £15 (Concessions: £10) are available now.