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Hawkhill hosts music events

Hawkhill Nursing Home at Milltimber will be alive with the sound of music over the next week when it hosts three events featuring young performers from the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

Hawkhill became one of the festival’s first out of town venues when it looked beyond the city boundaries seven or eight years ago and has welcomed young performers every year since. This year’s performers range from Frititi, a drumming and dance group from Ghana, to the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra.

The unique link between the festival and the home came about through Hawkhill’s owner, Mrs Rona Tayler, who has been a patron of the festival since it started 38 years ago and was delighted to offer the home as a venue when the festival began to expand. She is billed in the festival programme as a Diamond Star supporter.

“Steel bands are a favourite with our residents. We had one last year and we’ve been promised one next year although we don’t have one this time. But we have a very varied programme over three days.

“On Monday, 20 members of the Frititi Drumming and Dance group will be with us for the morning and will stay on for a buffet lunch. That’s sure to be a colourful occasion and our residents always respond well to rhythm,” she said. “On Wednesday afternoon members of the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra will be joining us. Their repertoire is extensive and features music from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller to Ted heath and Buddy Rich as well as original works composed especially for it.”

The final performance will be on Thursday, August 4 when Dragos Manza, violinist, and Alina Bercu, pianist, from Romania, will be joined by mezzo soprano Jemma Brown. This is the only time the three of them will appear on the same programme. Dragos will play a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadaganini, loaned by the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar.

Some Hawkhill residents will travel to the Beach Ballroom on Friday (July 29) to attend a Burns Cabaret, one of the first events on this year’s festival calendar.

“We are very much looking forward to all these performances and to meeting young people from around the world,” Mrs Tayler said.

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