On Saturday July 14th, Manygates Big Band travelled down to the Birmingham Conservatoire to perform in the Adrian Boult Hall as part of the National Festival of Music For Youth. They were invited after successfully passing the regional auditions. The Big Band were up against groups from all over Great Britain including county youth bands. Manygates Big Band performed three pieces showing different styles and featuring many solos (improvised and written). At the end of all the performances, the judges presented 2 awards to the best groups. Manygates Big Band were given the Highly Commended award which was a fantastic achievement for the band.
Roger Scorah, the band's director comments, "We had a brilliant day listening to all the other big bands playing music in different styles and featuring different soloists, and at the end to be presented with the Highly Commended award was the icing on the cake. The band performed to their full potential and deserve full credit for this award, I was so proud of every one of them."
