Beth wins coveted national orchestra place for second year

A TALENTED young Ripon Grammar School tuba player has won a coveted place in the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain for the second year running.

Beth Massey, 12, will take part in two week-long residentials, one at Easter and one in the summer, with some of the most gifted young musicians of her age across the country.

The Ripon Cathedral chorister, who has just gained a distinction in her Grade 6 Associated Board of the Royal School of Music tuba exam, will perform in a final showcase with the orchestra at the prestigious Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Hundreds of accomplished young musicians aged 14 and under from all over the UK attend highly competitive auditions each year, with the best selected be coached and play alongside top professional orchestral musicians.

Beth, from Summerbridge, who plays in the Summerbridge and Dacre Silver Band, has only been playing the tuba for two years, having previously played the euphonium from the age of eight. She also plays the piano.

Coming from a musical family and inspired by her father, who plays the cornet, and taught her the euphomium and tuba, she says: “Last year's residentials were an amazing experience. I got to play with talented musicians and work with world leading experts in low brass.

“The orchestra rehearsed for six-and-a-half hours a day and had lots of fun with time for socialising built-in round rehearsals.

“My favourite pieces were Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky and Tschaikovsky’s Pas de Deux from Swan Lake,” she says.

One of the highlights was the friends she made, and having a ‘six-night sleepover’ with other young musicians, she adds.

At RGS, Beth plays in the brass ensemble, wind band and the musicality choir.