History | Past Shows | Awards
Fortwilliam Musical Society Youth Group was born in September 1991. It currently has over 80 members, and there is a waiting list of enthusiastic young talent who want to join this elite group.
When Fortwilliam Musical Society was founded in 1977, it was included in the constitution that the Society would encourage the musical talents of the youth in North Belfast. In the formative years, this was realised by the inclusion of school children in the orchestra, which performed for us in shows and Christmas concerts. In December 1983, the performances of The Sound of Music resulted in a huge box office and financial success, not least due to the inclusion of two sets of Von Trapp children. This encouraged the Society to continue staging youth based shows.
There followed two productions of Oliver! - the first of which launched Peter Kennedy's career as a professional director - and The Wizard of Oz which played with tremendous success in the much missed Belfast Civic Arts Theatre. During the years from 1984 to 1989 the main production, whenever possible, included a youth cast.
With great ambition and no finances, Fortwilliam Musical Society officially launched the Youth Group in September 1991. William Cairns and Leonard Anderson voluntarily took on the roles of musical director and director. Their professional expertise helped steer the project to outstanding success with the production of The Boy Friend. "The great ambition" was more than realised with the abundance of awards achieved in the inaugural Derry Festival of Light Opera and the Northern Ireland Festival of Light Opera.
At both events, we were presented with the Award for Best Overall Show. These accolades were achieved thanks to the contributions from the late Tom McNally, set designer, Marie White, Irene Cairns and Ethna Harding, who designed and made the costumes and from all the senior members who helped so enthusiastically backstage and with promotion. We were also indebted to the Prince's Trust amongst others for grants towards running costs of the youth group.
A production of Oklahoma! and our annual concerts which raised money for the Children's Hospice of Northern Ireland followed. We continue to provide tuition in singing, drama and dance to our youth group, which grows in numbers every year.
In 2006, Joanne Laverty conceived, organised, promoted and directed a special performance of Oliver! in the Waterfront Theatre. The Youth Group cast of over 75 was augmented by a chorus of over 500 children from 15 schools from Belfast and beyond.
If you are interested in joining the Youth Group or helping in the production or financial support of our shows, please contact the Youth Group Co-ordinator.