Faz in harmony with orchestra

TALENTED Coppice violinist Faz Shah will be seen on Channel 4

TALENTED Coppice teenager Faz Shah will be playing a violin solo for millions of TV viewers after an audition for the Halle’s new youth orchestra.

Faz (17), an A-level student at Oldham Sixth Form College, will be part of a Channel 4 TV series after auditioning for the orchestra in January last year.

The new Halle Harmony Youth Orchestra searched for members throughout Greater Manchester for a project filmed by Diverse Productions.

Oldham Music Centre member Faz was selected to lead the second violin section.

He has been learning the violin for 10 years and plays with the Halle Youth Orchestra, Oldham Youth and Chamber Orchestras, and Oldham String Quartet.

The Halle Harmony Youth Orchestra project, supported by Oldham, Bolton, Manchester and Stockport Councils, has been running for a year.

A TV crew has followed members at rehearsal, on residential courses, in concerts, and in their homes, capturing the highs and lows of their progress from the auditions.

Faz auditioned to play the violin solo at the final concert on April 25 at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and was delighted to be selected.

The series will be shown later this year.

The Bridgewater Hall programme includes popular works like Mars from the “Planet Suite” by Holst, and the finale of the “Firebird Suite” by Stravinsky.

In complete contrast, Faz is also a beatboxer and jazz pianist and has performed at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, the Bridgewater Hall and Roadhouse in Manchester.

As an ex-pupil of Hathershaw College he was invited to the presentation evening to perform.