About Us

South Wales Youth Band was the brain child of Carol Flanary-Davies and Angela Westacott.

Carol and Angela both run their own successful Youth Bands - M3 based in Cardiff, and Rhondda Fach based in Tylorstown.   The bands have a large history and have regularly competed against each other in local competitions.  However, in 2021 at the height of Covid, Carol and Angela wanted to create something more for their young players, and for their future players.   Something that they felt was a large part of banding when they were younger, and missing from today.

This missing piece was the opportunity for players to meet and play alongside other players from different schools across South Wales and form new friendships.  An opportunity to be part of a bigger, regional, youth band with more challenges in terms of pieces to master, and competitions to be fought and won.  Something, perhaps, that would also help to develop, nurture, and grow brass banding within South Wales.

Together with help from Claire Foster and Sarah Burgess the ladies formed the South Wales Youth Band, and immediately set the band to work on their first challenge of meeting each other and playing together.  The first concert soon followed, and then came the big challenge of the year - The 2021 European Championships in Birmingham Symphony Hall.   This was a huge challenge for such a young band - both in terms of age and in experience playing together.   The result was fantastic !   That band came 5th against a number of bands from across Europe.   Bands with perhaps a much older membership, and certainly a longer history of playing and practicing together.   This result is testament to the hard work put in by all of the leadership team and children of the band.

The future looks bright for the band, as they look forwards to more concerts and competitions together.  Their doors are always open for any young players that would like to join.   To find out more click on our Join Us Link.  We can't wait to see you