Iona - Flute and Saxophone
Iona - Flute and Saxophone
I love playing in the Grand Union Youth Orchestar. It has given me opportunities to work with brilliant musicians and to play at fantastic venues, like Hackney Empire, and on the main stage at summer festivals, and to use microphones and sound systems that I would never have otherwise had.
Tony makes the music such fun. I can usually choose whether to play flute or saxophone for any piece. Tony and Claude encourage us to improvise and I am becoming better at this, and am learning to play by ear. I am also getting better at learning music quickly. This is what I want to do with music; I much prefer it to playing set pieces for grade exams.
Learning about different styles of music and different instruments has really helped with my GCSE music at schools, and playing on stage has helped me become more confident about playing in public. I get more fun out of music since playing with GUYO
I have made new friends at GUYO and really enjoy meeting them. It has been exciting going backstage and round festivals sites with them, and I am proud to be a member of GUYO