Inspired by Greta Thunberg and the youth movement against climate change, award-winning young composer Kate Whitley and poet and director Laura Attridge have written Our Future in Your Hands.
The work is designed for orchestra, choir and three soloists, and will be performed in St John’s Church at Buxton international Festival (BIF) between 10 and 17 July.
A choir of 100 pupils from in and around Buxton will join members from the BIF’s Young Instrumentalist Programme, the Northern Chamber orchestra and the Festival Orchestra to perform the piece.
In an interview with Gerry Northam, Whitley said: ‘I have worked with young people for a long time and always really like doing it because you get so much openness from them and it is an opportunity to have an impact on what could happen in their future. They are going to inherit a world that is at risk.
‘So, this can be a really powerful message to come from their mouths. Young women have tended not to have voices in political matters which means that they hold an interesting place as outsiders who can comment on events rather than being swept up in the mainstream. It is an amazing position if one of them manages to get their voice heard…This is a call to arms.’
The piece was commissioned by the Buxton international Festival in collaboration with the Royal Over-Seas League, supported by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.
Tickets to Buxton Festival cost £20-£25.
