A GERMAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA is looking forward to a week-long tour of Banffshire and Moray for what will be their sixth visit celebrating links between the region and their home in Kronach.
Hosts for the young musicians during their stay from August 25 until September 1 is the Historic Banffshire Kronach Twitting Association (HBKTA) who are looking forward to what will be the sixth visit of the group to Scotland.
Their first visit was in 1974, shortly after Banff County Council was twinned with the district of Kronach in the south of Germany. They last visited ten years ago – so they are all very much looking forward to returning in what for many of those taking part will be a first visit to Scotland.
Orchestra leader Guenther Soja said that the youngsters were looking forward to enjoying “wonderful scenery and the warm welcome” in a week that will have a packed programme of events.
On Wednesday, August 26 there will be a ceilidh with the Strathspey Fiddlers in Huntly in the Stewart Hall at 7.30pm at which they will play – tickets for this event cost £8 and can be bought at the door on the evening of the ceilidh or at Rizza’s in Huntly.
The following day the orchestra will play at Banff Academy, while people can enjoy their performance on Saturday, August 29 when they will play on the Plainstones in Elgin from 11am until 12noon.
That same day HBKTA is holding a family ceilidh, with music by the Strathspey Fiddlers, in St Thomas Hall in Keith from 7.30pm to 10.30pm to welcome the group. Tickets for this event cost £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and £3 for ages 5-18 (with a special offer of 4 tickets for £10 if you buy the tickets now) – under-fives can get in free.
Tickets are limited for this event and are available by contacting banffshirekronach@gmail.com.
Kronach Youth Orchestra was formed in 1963 – they play traditional brass band pieces such as marches and polkas, sound tracks from the movies, musicals, pop and rock, as well as classical pieces for brass bands.
HBKTA has organized a programme of visits for the group in between concerts, so they are hoping for good weather when they tour the area.
To find out more about our twinning with Kronach, take a look at our facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/HBKTA.
The Youth Orchestra’s website can be found at http://www.jugendorchester-kronach.de/.