Local primary schools join Harrogate Brigantes Rotary to host a stunning Royal Hall concert

Kids Aloud – The Last Dragon
Sat 1st and Sunday 2nd April 2023 at the Royal Hall Harrogate
Performances 6.30pm
Tickets £15, under 17s £5

In less than two weeks’ time, Harrogate Brigantes Rotary will once again host their bi-annual Kids Aloud concert at the stunning Royal Hall. The Last Dragon is a musical extravaganza featuring 400 children (200 each night) from thirteen primary schools in the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon areas.

The talented young performers have written a lot of the music themselves, with a little help from storyteller Guy Wilson and composer Roland Fudge.

The children have also illustrated a book to accompany the show, which is available from popular local independent bookshops, Imagined Things in Harrogate and The Little Bookshop in Ripon.

Guy said: “This is the eighth ‘Kids Aloud’ concert Harrogate Brigantes Rotary has put on and the first that is entirely original. It gives our children a memorable chance to celebrate post-Covid freedom with a lung-bursting performance at a full Royal Hall. We’re grateful to all the local businesses who’ve sponsored us and to Arts Council England who’ve given us a Youth Music grant.”
‘The Last Dragon’ is a dramatic tale of good and evil, courage and victory set in the imaginary country of Rubovernia. It tells how two children, helped by the very last dragon in the country are able to fight off the evil that threatens it.

Guy has nothing but praise for the cast – and their teachers. “This has been a team effort,” he said. He paid particular tribute to Carmel Wake, for many years a leading primary schools music teacher in the town and for whom this will be the last ‘Kids Aloud’. “As usual, Carmel has brought all her musical and organisational skills to the show. She has sourced and adapted music, conducted performances and coordinated the work of the schools.”