Young North Devon musicians off to Susa

YOUNG musicians from all over North Devon will be hoping that their music will translate to a new audience when they perform a trio of concerts in Barnstaple s Italian twin town of Susa later this year. Twenty guitarists and 20 violin and cello players f

YOUNG musicians from all over North Devon will be hoping that their music will translate to a new audience when they perform a trio of concerts in Barnstaple's Italian twin town of Susa later this year.

Twenty guitarists and 20 violin and cello players from the region are due to head to Italy in October to perform in a variety of beautiful venues including the cathedral in the centre of Susa.

The group of 13-20-year-olds has been awarded a grant of �8,000 from the Davie Trust to help cover some of the costs of the trip. They will be joined by deputy mayor of Barnstaple Cllr Ian Roome, as well as teachers and pupils from Newport Community School, which has been holding exchange visits with the Piedmont mountain town for a number of years.

Some of the youngsters who are going to Susa formed part of an ensemble of 126 classical guitarists aged from seven to 20 who played at the Summer Guitar Concert, held at the Kingsley College Theatre in Bideford earlier this month.

The concert, one of the largest gatherings of young classical guitarists in the South West, was the culmination of work with classical guitar teacher Des Miles.

"Des has been a huge influence in music tuition throughout North Devon," said Frances Bell of Newport Community School.

"To see such a collection of young guitarists together is very unusual and quite breath-taking. Many of the youngsters take their classical skills and also play acoustic and rock guitar - there are definitely some stars of the future among them.