Name: City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra
Start: 2025-07-31T19:30:00
Location: The Stoller Hall

The Stoller Hall

City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra

One night in Stockton On Tees, three teenagers heard strange sounds coming from the backroom of a pub. They went in. They heard people singing songs they’d never heard before. Songs without instruments. Songs in their own accents. Songs about places they knew. Folk songs. They joined in. Because they were the youngest ones there by several decades, they were soon labeled ‘the Young’uns.’ More than 20 years on and they’ve carried their unfortunate name around the world, from Sidney to Vancouver, from Radio Tees to Radio 4, won 3 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and gained a reputation for singing life affirming songs of social conscience in immaculate 3 part harmony.

The Young’uns

This semi-staged concert is based on our preconceptions of mental illness, with each piece having a connection to the psychology of the mind – centred around Peter Maxwell Davies’ harrowing depiction of the ‘madness’ of King George III.

Maxwell Davies was a key member of the Manchester School of Composers, who reshaped the landscape of British music in the late 20th century. 8 Songs for a Mad King is a melodrama with a libretto based on the real-life observations of King George III, presenting an extravagant and disturbing portrayal of his condition. 

Vocalising weirdly as he bemoans his fate, trying to teach his instrumentalist-birds to sing – our musicians becoming projections from within his own mind.

Manchester Camerata: 8 Songs for a Mad King

The City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra is one of the UK’s leading independent youth orchestras. The first of two summer concerts, the programme begins with Tchaikovsky’s ‘thunderingly dramatic and achingly beautiful’ Fantasy Overture to Romeo and Juliet.