YAMSEN:SpeciallyMusic and Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts collaborate annually on two special events: the non-competitive Music Makers Class and an annual summer concert, both for performers with additional needs.
Music Makers’ Class
Thursday 7th May 2026, 10.30 for 11am – 12 noon
Craiglands Hotel, Cowpasture Road, Ilkley, LS29 8RQ
This is a free, non-competitive class aimed at schools with SEND pupils who would enjoy the chance to perform one or two pieces (max 5 mins, original compositions welcome) using any combination of instruments and/or voices, to a friendly audience.
Each performer/group will receive feedback and a certificate as a means of encouragement.
NOTE ON DISABILITY ACCESS: Craiglands Hotel has ramp access and a disabled toilet. Performances are at the front of the room, not on a raised stage.
For for information, please click here
To join us, please fill out this form
“The response to this was so enthusiastic that many of the performers stood up and invited each other to dance in the centre of the hall; it was such a relaxed and happy moment after all the hard work which had gone into the earlier performances.” Pat Dibb, General Secretary of Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts (WFPA) reports on A Summer’s Day: Concert in Ilkley, July 4, 2023 in the Ilkley Gazette.
Previous Events
July 2nd 2024 marked the Wharfedale Festival and YAMSEN summer concert. Held at the King’s Hall, Ilkley, 12:45-1:30pm, the concert featured YAMSEN choirs, workshop performances and members of the Music Makers class performing to a friendly lunchtime audience. For a second year, Cathy Ibberson and her Topaz band from Jazz Leeds joined our choirs for an interactive and collaborative concert with our One Accord choir and YAM singers from Leeds.
Click here to read the full report from Pat Dibb, General Secretary of the Wharedale Festival of Performing Arts in the Ilkley Gazette from 2023.