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Guitar Circus educational programmes and resources for teachers
Help us to continue to nurture classical guitar education
WYGF was founded in 2007. It is a full-board classical guitar festival for 8-18 year olds of any ability and is held every two years in the UK.
WYGF offers a huge range of activities for participants to get excited about: coaching from some of the top tutors in the world; fun-based and skills-based workshops suitable for every level; opportunities to train and perform as part of both an ensemble and also a giant orchestra!
Learning as part of an ensemble develops core musicianship skills and is the philosophy behind WYGF. All students are coached daily in level-appropriate groups in one of our eight WYGF guitar orchestras and as these are graded to ability, nobody feels out of their depth. Every orchestra works with one of our special guest artists to prepare for the final student concert.
All students will choose one ‘WYGF Pathway’ to explore a different genre of guitar, or a special focus area every afternoon throughout the festival. There are limited places on some of these Pathways so early booking is recommended. The options for 2023 will include:
Jazz guitar
Acoustic/percussive guitar
Conservatoire Fast-track
Composition & Improvisation
Ukulele
Chamber guitar coaching
Workshops can cover a broad range of musical activities and are not always anything to do with the guitar! They have been selected to appeal to all levels of guitarist and could include: African Drumming, Circus Skills, playing the Spoons, Finger Aerobics, Exam Preparation, Conducting, Improvisation or even learning how to Re-string your guitar!
Every year visiting group ensembles are invited to perform as part of a showcase concert. To date we have enjoyed performances by Bad Nauheim Guitar Ensemble (DEU), Corinium Players (UK), GUITAR CIRCUS (UK), Guitarstrophe (AUS), Guildhall School of Music & Drama Junior Dept (UK), Haringey Guitar Ensemble (UK), Holme Valley Music Centre Ensemble (UK), National Youth Guitar Ensemble (UK) and Twango (UK) to name a few. If you are an ensemble leader who wants to bring a group to WYGF and you would like to perform in a showcase concert, please contact us for more details.
Catch our inspirational guest artists ‘live in concert’ in the Centenary Hall.
Write to us
By email: Info@guitarcircus.org.uk
By Post: Guitar Circus, 7 The Maples, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1TQ