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2018

Archive News

Christmas 2022

For the second year running, our Christmas Concert this year will be a FREE EVENT! Taking place on Friday 16th December at 7:30pm, at Trinity Methodist Church, Powell Street, Castleford WF10 1EL (near Castleford Train Station), admission will be by pre-booked ticket only. Click the link below and book yours as soon as possible if you would like to be there!

Book now

2022 Performances

We can now confirm the majority of our planned 2022 concerts and other performances, as follows:

Sunday 8th May 2022 (Band Only)
Low Ackworth Community Centre Fun Day 11am - 1pm

Sunday 5th June 2022
Queen's Park Castleford. Queen's Jubilee performance in the bandstand, with Castleford Male Voice Choir, 2pm - 4pm

Friday 24th June 2022
Annual Presentation Concert, Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre, Castleford, 7:30pm. Contact us for tickets (£5 adults, kids free) Includes light refreshments

Saturday 16th July 2022
Sun Court, Spa Theatre, Scarborough, 2pm

Friday 14th October 2022
St Peter's Church, Kirkthorpe, Wakefield, 7:30pm

Sunday 20th November 2022 (BAND ONLY)
Low Ackworth Community Centre Christmas Market 10:30am - 12:30pm

Friday 16th December 2022
Christmas Concert, Trinity Methodist Church, Castleford, 7:30pm
FREE EVENT! Tickets here:

Book now

Getting Ready for Christmas!

Rehearsals are now underway for our Christmas Concert at Trinity Methodist Church in Castleford on 16th December, but here's a flashback to our band rehearsing 'A Holiday Swing-a-Long' last year!

Congratulations!

Many congratulations to long-time choir member Suzanne on her recent marriage to Jonathan at Rogerthorpe Manor. Here they are, pictured with Peter. Congratulations from everyone at CYM!

More congratulations are due for a member of our choir - this time to Emma Burrow and her husband Matthew on the safe arrival of their daughter Lola Jean. We can't wait to meet her!

 

 

 

We're back...almost!

Following the recent lifting of many restrictions in England, we are now in a position to confirm a proposed return to rehearsals from early September 2021. Our members have already been informed and will be sent more specific details nearer the time. For any new members interested in joining us, please e-mail cymonline@live.co.uk and we'll send the details on to you too.

As far as performances are concerned, we are currently looking for a venue for our Christmas concert as the Civic Centre is unavailable for the rest of 2021 due to its role as a vaccination centre. Again, more details will be provided as soon as possible, but this is likely to be our only live performance of 2021.

COVID-19 Update - October 2020

The CYM Committee have been busy over the last couple of months looking at ways of getting back to rehearsals as quickly, but as safely as possible. Although this has taken a backward step with the recent announcement of West Yorkshire entering Tier 3 and tonight's confirmation of a four week national lockdown, we are in regular communication with our members with updates on the work we are doing.

As well as our members and parents' e-mail mailing list and members only Facebook group, we also have Whatsapp groups for band and choir members. If you are a member and still need to join any of these lists, please contact Phil or Ralph in the usual ways.

To our audiences and supporters...we hope you are all keeping well and can't wait until we can see you again. Although we obviously won't be performing in front of an audience for the remainder of 2020, we'll keep our fingers crossed for at least some type of performance in the first half of 2021!

CYM Statement - Coronavirus (COVID-19)

18th March 2020. The CYM Committee have unfortunately had to cancel all rehearsals today, for the foreseeable future. Click here to read the full statement.

CYM Committee Update

Following the sad passing of our President Rodney Green in December last year, the CYM Executive Committee recently voted unanimously to appoint current Choir Director Ralph Jaggar as President with immediate effect.

The position of Vice-President for 2020-21 was filled by Secretary Susan Jaggar, and long-serving band and committee member Diane Carlisle accepted an invitation to become a Trustee of Castleford Young Musicians. CYM would like to welcome all three to their new roles.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our members, friends and supporters. We hope you've had a great break over the festive holiday and are looking forward to 2020.

Details of our confirmed 2020 events so far are on our events page, including our first get together - our members' social event at Xscape on Friday 10th January. Our first performance of 2020 will be on 20th March with our friends at Featherstone Male Voice Choir.

 

 

 

 

Rodney Green

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our President, Rodney Green on Sunday 1st December after a short illness.
Rodney was one of our founder members, establishing and directing our concert band from 1966 to 1996. On stepping down from this role, he continued to serve CYM as Musical Associate, before taking over as President in 2011.
A service will be held on Friday 13th December (11.30 for an 11.45 start) at Ravensthorpe United Reformed Church, WF13 3AL.
Rodney was very well respected by past and present members of Castleford Young Musicians and will be sadly missed.

 

 

 

 

Co-op Presentation

A massive thank you to everyone who supported us over the last 12 months by nominating us as their Co-op Local Cause. We raised a fantastic £3016.22, which not only completed our 'Defibrillators for Castleford' appeal, but also enabled us to fund a full set of 115 teddy bears for West Yorkshire Police's 'Talk to the Bear' campaign. One of these bears has been placed in every Primary School in Wakefield, giving children the opportunity to talk to the bear about anything that is worrying them.

The remaining money will go towards future projects supporting children's mental health, including 'Think Like a Pony' for whom we will be performing a fundraising concert in March next year. Look out for more details about the charity and our concert in the new year.

A number of our committee were present at Co-op Castleford for the cheque presentation recently. Thanks once again to everyone who supported us.

 

Co-op Local Cause - final call!

Our year as a Co-op local cause comes to an end on Saturday 26th October. So far customers of Co-op have raised over £1200 for Castleford Young Musicians, by choosing us as their local cause. HOWEVER, there's still over £4800 that Co-op members in our area haven't yet allocated to a cause! If you or someone you know shops at Co-op, but haven't chosen a charity yet, please consider us as we continue our 2019 fundraising efforts supporting children's mental health, including 'Talk to the Bear' and 'Think Like a Pony'. Thank you.

2020 Concert Schedule

Our 2020 concert schedule is close to being finalised. Take a look at our events page for details of concerts confirmed so far, including a joint concert with Featherstone Male Voice Choir and a performance in Leeds to raise money for the Children's Charity 'Think Like a Pony'.

2019 Christmas Cabaret Concert

Tickets for our 2019 Christmas Cabaret Concert on 13th December at Castleford Civic Centre went on sale at the end of September for subscribers to our mailing list, but they're now available to the general public on the link below. Priced at just £7 for adults, with kids going free, our tickets remain one of the the best value in the Five Towns. Not only that, there's currently an early bird discount and money off for group bookings!

Talk to the Bear

Our presentation concert in June gave us chance to tell our audience about our current fundraising campaign in support of young people's mental health charities. During the evening we presented 115 teddy bears to West Yorkshire Police's 'Talk to the Bear' campaign. One of these bears will be placed in every Primary School in Wakefield, giving children the opportunity to talk to the bear about anything that is worrying them. After a successful pilot in a local school, we are delighted to support this initiative by funding these bears. Thanks to Sgt Angela Dennison and PC Tony Shand for attending our presentation concert to accept the bears.

 

 

Presentation Concert 2019

Thanks to everyone who supported our Annual Concert on 21st June at Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre. We all enjoyed the night and had some great feedback afterwards. Thanks again to Flavours, Castleford for sponsoring the event and their hospitality (and scones!)

Congratulations to Maxx Lancaster, Jasmine Toal, Ellie White and Chloe Wilson who were all presented with Long Service Awards

Also, special congratulations to band member Alfie Southernwood and choir member Alexi Fairbank, winners of the first John L Dobson Award for Commitment and Attendance. This new award is in memory of the late Mr Dobson, long time supporter of CYM and grandfather of choir member Megan Lakin.

Well Done Alexi!

Well done to choir member Alexi Williamson who recently donated some of her hair to the Little Princess Trust, a charity who uses the hair to make wigs for children with cancer who lose their own hair. Thanks to everyone who sponsored her too!

Radio Leeds Feature

Castleford Young Musicians featured on the BBC Radio Leeds breakfast show on Wednesday 13th February. Band Director Phil Clarkson spoke about our concert band and choir, the fundraising we do (inlcuding our recent defibrillator appeal of course) and how we're on the lookout for new members.

Click here to hear the interview (skip to 1:39:00). For a bonus feature on an unrelated topic with Phil and our Treasurer Richard Forster, skip to 2:53:27!

Defibrillator Handover

After just over a year of fundraising, we were very happy to deliver two defibrillators to Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre on Tuesday 12th February, along with an indoor cabinet and a heated outdoor cabinet. A photographer from the Pontefract and Castleford Express was there to mark the occasion, so look out for the photo in the local paper in the next week or so.

The shopping centre will now take responsibility for installing and maintaining the defibrillators, but look out for the grand unveiling once they're in situ.

 

We're a Co-op Local Cause!

Castleford Young Musicians are delighted to have been chosen as one of Co-op Castleford's Local Causes for 2018-19.

This means as a member of Co-op, you can choose CYM as your local cause and automatically donate 1% of what you have spent on selected products and services, including food stores and electricals, to Castleford Young Musicians and help boost our Defibrillators for Castleford Appeal. For more information, click here.

 

Calling All Clarinettists!

Castleford Young Musicians are always on the lookout for new band and choir members, but we're currently very keen to invite any clarinettists who may wish to join us. There are NO AUDITIONS, so if you're aged between 8 and 25 and are at least grade 1 standard please come down to a rehearsal and see what you think! Contact us for more information.

 

Tracey Chappell

CYM are very sad to hear the news that former choir member Tracey Chappell passed away suddenly on 9th January. Our condolences to Graham and the rest of Tracey's family.

Tracey's funeral will take place on Friday 1st February with service in Pontefract Crematorium at 1:40pm.

2019 Social Event - Gravity

Our first meet up of 2019 was once again at Gravity, Xscape, where members enjoyed an hour on the trampolines, followed by refreshments.

It was a great chance for everyone to have a post Christmas catch-up ahead of our first rehearsal on Friday 18th January and another busy year.

 

 

Defibrillator Appeal Update

We still have a little money to come in, but we're delighted to announce we have exceeded our £2000 target to install two defibrillators in Castleford, raising a fantastic £2239.06 (so far!)
A massive thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this in such a short time - we expected this to take a couple of years!

Our President, Rodney Green has sent the following message:
"As President of Castleford Young Musicians, I should like to thank, most sincerely, the general public and the many benefactors who have made it possible for us to install 2 defibrillators in Castleford town centre.  Your generosity will now produce a life-saving apparatus in the Castleford community."

We will of course update you when the defibrillators are purchased and installed. Watch this space!

Christmas Early Bird Offer

Tickets are now on sale for our Christmas 2018 concert at the Civic Centre in Castleford on Friday 14th December at 7:30pm. As usual, kids go free and adults tickets are just £7 each (that's 50p cheaper than last year!) PLUS if you buy them before 16th November, you can save even more as they are only £6 until then. Surely they have to be the best value tickets in town this Christmas?!

Five Towns Community Day

Some of our band and choir member helped run a stall at Pontefract Park on Saturday 15th September as we kick-started our 2018-19 season with some promotion at the Five Towns Community Day.

 

 

An Evening of Music on the Lanes

Our concert 'An Evening of Music on the Lanes'. took place on the evening of Friday 13th July at Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre to raise money for our 'Defbirillators for Castleford' Appeal. The evening was a great success with an audience of over 100 people enjoying a wide range of music from our concert band and choir. We're still waiting for the total amount raised on the night, but with over £280 raised from the raffle alone, a big 'thank you' has to go to everyone who bought tickets. Thanks also to Loubie Lou's, Sisters Ladies Fashionwear, Bill Plant Driving School by Scott Tomkinson, KL Hairdressing,  and the staff at Dorothy Perkins and Marks & Spencer and  for donating some brilliant raffle prizes.

 

 

Castleford Footbridge 10th Anniversary Celebrations

CYM were recently invited to perform at the 10th Anniversary celebrations of the Castleford Footbridge.

The bridge project featured on Channel 4 and was officially opened on the 4th of July 2008 by Wakefield Council Leader Peter Box and TV presenter Kevin McCloud at a cost of £4.8 million, which was funded by national and regional bodies. For more information about the bridge, visit the Castleford Heritage Trust website

Defibrilators for Castleford Appeal

CYM are pleased to announce the launch of a new joint fundraising campaign with Carlton Lanes to bring much needed defibrillators to Castleford town centre. We are aiming to raise enough money to locate two automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the Shopping Centre which will be available for use by members of the public should the need arise.

AEDs are lightweight portable devices used in cases of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) that check the patient’s heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. SCA can lead to death if it’s not treated within minutes; in fact each minute of SCA leads to a 10% reduction in the chance of survival. AEDs are intended to be used by the general public to allow early treatment of the patient until the emergency services arrive.

Castleford Young Musicians will be raising money through various fundraising events, donations and collections at concerts, but we're very pleased to announce that 100% of the profit from our Annual Concert at the Civic Centre on Friday 11th May will go towards this appeal.

Neighbourhood Improvement Fund

Very pleased to announce we have been successful in our application for £500 from Wakefield Council’s Neighbourhood Improvement Fund. This will go towards replacing our well used music stands which have served us well for over 15 years, but they have certainly seen better days!

Joint Concert with Featherstone Male Voice Choir

CYM were invited to perform with Featherstone Male Voice Choir at Featherstone Methodist Church on Friday 9th March to raise money for the Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract. The Mayor's Concert was a fantastic evening; the packed out audience enjoying a wide range of music from both organisations. Many thanks to those who left us comments on social media:
"You were all completely fabulous. Hope you are very proud of yourselves, because you really should be. Fantastic mix of talent." Julie Marris
"Thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening. Well done everyone!" Pauline West
"What a brilliant night that was ! From the youngest performer to the oldest, everyone looked as if they were really enjoying it, and delivered a memorable evening’s entertainment. Thanks to all of you" John Harvey
"Fantastic concert. Everyone was amazing. I was so proud of our son for being able to be part of it" Claire Lancaster
"Brilliant concert, didn’t want it to end!" Vanessa Clarkson
"Well done to all concerned another amazing concert" Pauline Dyson
"Wonderful evening, enjoyed every minute. Well done everyone!" Phyllis Harvey

Promotional Event

A big thank you to those who volunteered during our promotional morning on 9th September at Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre, Castleford. We gave out plenty of leaflets and had some interest, so hopefully this results in a few new members for our band and choir!

Exam Congratulations

Congratulations to Alfie Southernwood (Grade 1) and Maxx Lancaster (Grade 4) who both passed their recent Saxophone exams!

 

New Concert

We've just added a new concert to our events page - a performance at St Joseph's Primary School in Castleford on Friday 7th July to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. As this is the same venue as our planned rehearsal, the evening will begin with refreshments at 7pm with the concert beginning at 7:30pm. Tickets will be available on the door and are priced at £5 adults, with children just £2.

New Arrivals!

Congratulations to choir members Jade and Lee Gray on the birth of their son Finley, and to Life Member Clare Heins and her husband Stefan on the birth of their daughter Sofia, both born last week. Sofia is a brand new granddaughter for Susan and Ralph Jaggar!)

 

 

 

David Lorriman

Castleford Young Musicians are very sad to announce the passing of one of our founding members David Lorriman. A service to celebrate his life will take place at Castleford Christadelphian Hall, Hartley St, off High Oxford Street, Castleford, WF10 5DQ on Thursday 2nd February at 11:45. Our condolences to his wife and former Choir Director Vera and their family.

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our members, friends, family and supporters!

See you all in 2017! When? Have a look at our events page!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Our Annual Christmas Cabaret Concert on 16th December at Castleford Civic Centre, sponsored by Handelsbanken Castleford, brought our very busy Christmas period to a close. It followed concerts the previous two weeks; the first being our joint concert with Castleford Male Voice Choir at Pontefract Central Methodist Church followed by a performance of Christmas music at St Paul's Church, Glasshoughton, on 9th December. The concert was also our final meeting of 2016 - our unforgettable 50th Anniversary year! We now look forward to a busy 2017 (see our events page for details), but before then we would like to wish all our members and supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

50th Anniversary

Our reunion social event on 2nd September 2016 marked the end of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, with members past and present coming together to share memories of their time with CYM. It's been a very busy year, with the production of a CD and DVD, as well as our Anniversary Concert in May.

If you're a past member and haven't yet requested your free copy of our CD or DVD, click here!

 

Wedding Congratulations

Congratulations to Committee and Choir member Jade on her recent marriage to fellow Choir member Lee Gray in the Lake District. We wish you a long and happy future together!

 

 

 

 

 

Castleford Young Musicians have recently signed up with 'Making Music', the UK's number one organisation for voluntary music groups. We're looking forward to discovering the benefits of being members of this organisation through the rest of this year and beyond! For more details about 'Making Music' visit them at www.makingmusic.org.uk.

We're now on Instagram! Take a look: Instagram

Our Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy and our Health and Safety Policy are now available to view on our Policies page, or to download from our Downloads page.

Geoff Marshall

Castleford Young Musicians are sad to announce the passing last week of Geoff Marshall. Geoff was a very active supporter of our group in the 80’s and 90’s while his son Phil was a member of the band, organising many fundraising events and taking on the role of Chair of the Parents Group at the time. His funeral will take place at Kettlethorpe Crematorium on Friday 28th October at 11am.

Joint Concert with Yorkshire Evening Post Brass

Our concert on 6th May 2016 at St Matthew's Church, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, LS7 3QF with the brass tentet, Yorkshire Evening Post Brass went very well. Thanks to Diane Carlisle for organising the event.

 

 

 

 

 

We started 2016 with a members social event, roller skating at The Hut in Airedale. This followed an enjoyable night bowling there last year.

Our Annual Christmas Concert at the Civic Centre on 11th December lived up to its reputation as one of our most popular concerts of the year with a bumper audience enjoying a wide range of Christmas music from our Concert Band and Choir. Thanks to everyone who attended and once again a big thank you to Handelsbanken for sponsoring the concert.

The following week, we ended 2015 with a short Christmas Concert at Castleford Library. A very cosy venue, but appreciated by the Friends of Castleford Library.

Our performance as guests of Castleford Male Voice Choir took place on Friday 16th October 2015 at the Civic Centre in Castleford, in their annual Patron's Concert. This was the first time the two groups had performed together in a joint concert, and judging by the comments at the end of the night, it was a great success!

A big 'thank you' to everyone who attended our Summer School on 18th August 2015. We hope those who performed with us for the first time had a good day and we would like to thank our current members who came to support us; we couldn't have done it without you! Hope all our current and future members enjoy the rest of their summer holidays and we'll hopefully see you all at our next rehearsal on Friday 4th September (usual place and time)

Congratulations to Callum Ferrier on passing his Grade 8 Clarinet, Grade 8 Guitar AND Grade 6 Drums recently!

Our Annual Concert at the Civic Centre in Castleford in May 2015 was once again a great success. The concert featured a number of brand new items, as well as solos from Chloe Wilson in the choir and band member Liam Oxley on Saxophone. Band Director Phil Clarkson performed Stranger on the Shore, accompanied by Steven Dixon on piano, to remember the well-known Clarinettist Acker Bilk who passed away at the end of last year.
A number of presentations were made on the night; Kath Smart was announced as Vice-President for the coming year and choir member Jade Sinfield was formally accepted onto the Executive Committee. Band member Steven Dixon’s recent promotion to the Committee was also recognised.
Awards were made to long serving choir members Faye Burke and Lee Gray, and band member Becky Brocklehurst. Attendance awards were presented to Liam Oxley and Jasmine Toal in the band, and Matthew Williamson and Chloe Wilson in the choir. Certificates of appreciation were also made to the six choir members who recently represented CYM at Pontefract Music Festival; Darcey Crewe, Georgia Griffiths, Sophie Hockney, Alice Lindley, Daisy Pyrah and Chloe Wilson.
Congratulations to all our award winners and thank you to those who contributed to the £146 raised by the raffle.
Thanks also to some of our audience members for leaving the following messages on our Facebook page after the concert:
“A thoroughly entertaining performance once again. A good variety of music; you could see the enjoyment on their faces, and when the performers enjoy it, we enjoy it. Thanks to everyone.” John Harvey
“Well done to everyone at tonight's concert brilliant performances as usual” Pauline Dyson
“Wonderful evening and inspiring to see such talent on show” David Hall
“Well done everyone it was a brilliant night” Claire Wilson
With this Annual Concert now complete, we turn our attentions to our 50th Anniversary Gala Concert in twelve months’ time. Keep an eye out for details of this, plus all the other performances and events scheduled in the meantime.

We're now on Instagram! Take a look: Instagram

Congratulations to all our members who represented us in Pontefract Music Festival recently. Well done to Georgia Griffiths for coming third in Prepared Reading, and to Chloe Wilson and Darcey Crewe for receiving Credits for their singing performances. In Verse Speaking, well done to Sophie Hockney and Alice Lindley for their Credits and a special congratulations to Daisy Pyrah for coming first place in her class! They all performed and represented CYM really well so a big 'Well Done' to them! The singers were accompanied on the piano by band member Steven Dixon who did a brilliant job too!

Our Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy and our Health and Safety Policy are now available to view on our Policies page, or to download from our Downloads page.

Our first meeting after Christmas, on 9th January was a member's social event, with ten-pin bowling at The Hut in Airedale. It was a great way to start the 2015 season; many thanks to everyone at The Hut for their hospitality.

Our Christmas concert at the Civic Centre on 12th December 2014 was once again a great success. Featuring several brand new items in both the band and choir programmes, plus a special performance of 'You Raise Me Up' by Ralph, Phil, Richard and choir members Lee and Matthew! Thanks to all who attended, and Merry Christmas to all our members and supporters!

Congratulations to Phil Clarkson and Sarah Dyson on their wedding at the end of July 2014. Presentations were made to the happy couple towards the end of the concert in Scarborough from both CYM as a whole, and the band more specifically.

Thanks to everyone who came to see our performance in Scarborough on 12th July 2014. Once again our members had a good day out in the amusements and on the beach, and enjoyed a great concert at Queen Street Central Hall in the evening.

Our presentation concert at the Civic Centre on 16th May 2014 saw 10 year awards presented to band member Billy Beacroft and (in absentia) Emily Driscoll in the choir, along with attendance awards for Liam Oxley (Band) and Matthew Williamson (Choir). Congratulations to them all! The position of Vice President, which exists as an annual rotation between members of the Committee was passed from Phil Clarkson to Diane Carlisle.

Our concert at The Brig in Altofts in April 2014 went very well. Tim Johnson, Trustee at The Brig sent us an e-mail following the performance...

"A massive thank you for last night. What a great evening.
Such a bunch of talented people. I can appreciate the hard work and dedication from all concerned that has to go into producing a performance of that quality. The feedback from those attending was great.
My personal highlights was the Mamas and Papas (ex hippie!) and the Gershwin medley.
Please forward this email to those who participated and I hope we can work together again.
Tim Johnson
The Brig, Trustee"

Band and Choir members donned their hoodies at a recent rehearsal to show the funding organisation 'Positive Choices' that their money has gone to good use. It's great seeing our members out and about in the local area advertising our group!

Congratulations to choir members Alice Lindley, Daisy Pyrah, Sophie Hockney, Darcy Crewe, Evie Griffiths, Lucy Marshall, Brodie Westwood, Chloe Wilson and Ellie White, who all represented CYM in the 2013 Pontefract Music Festival!

Our concert at Trinity Methodist Church in Castleford on 27th September 2013 was a great success, raising over £400 for Blind Veterans UK. Many thanks to all who attended.

Band and Choir members donned their hoodies last night to show the funding organisation 'Positive Choices' that their money has gone to good use. It's great seeing our members out and about in the local area advertising our group!

Our concert at Trinity Methodist Church, Castleford, on 17th May 2013 raised over £500 for the  Trinity Mission Night Shelter and Drop-In Centre. A big thank you to our enthusiastic and generous audience!

Our Annual Presentation Concert on 15th March 2013, sponsored by Handelsbanken, helped raise over £600 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Many thanks to our wonderful audience for helping us raise so much.
Awards on the night were presented to Flautist Victoria Mallory for 10 year's service, and choir member Alice Lynch and Saxophonist Chris Camm for 5 years. It was Band Director Phil Clarkson's turn for the Vice Presidency, taking over from Richard Forster in this position's annual rotation.

A great result at the Positive Choices funding event in February 2013 helped us fund new, specially designed hoodies for all our existing and new members. This is one of several initiatives we are trying to help us grow our membership.

CYM are still looking for someone to come along and help our Choir Director. Hopefully this would eventually lead to taking over the directorship of the choir. This is a voluntary position and rehearsals are held on Friday evenings 7pm-9pm (term time only). This would be a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys choral work with a membership of young people aged between 8 and 25 years. For any further information or interest, please contact our secretary on (01977) 511971.