Youth Board

Leyton Bartley Beal is an Associate Producer at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, one of Australia’s largest and longest-running youth performing arts festivals. In this role, he helps deliver an extensive annual program celebrating excellence in dance, music, and drama, engaging thousands of young performers from schools and community groups across the region.

Passionate about nurturing artistic talent and creating accessible pathways for young people in the arts, Leyton combines a creative background with a strong foundation in event management and production. A former professional dancer, he brings first-hand insight into the value of performance-based education and the importance of fostering inclusive, supportive festival environments.

Alongside his work at the Eisteddfod, Leyton is a Project Coordinator at The Conference Company, where he contributes to the planning and delivery of large-scale national and international conferences and exhibitions across Australasia. His academic studies in Entertainment Industries and Digital Screen Media further inform his approach to innovation, logistics, and audience engagement within the arts and events sectors.

As a member of the British & International Federation of Festivals (BIFF) Youth Board, Leyton is committed to promoting the transformative power of performance, advancing cross-cultural collaboration, and supporting the continued growth of youth festivals worldwide.

My name is Leah Murdy, and I am a final year law student from Northern Ireland.

My love for all things dance, music, drama and the arts started when I was about 3 years old when I watched The Sound of Music on repeat. Then, for my fourth birthday, I asked for dance lessons, and I have never looked back.

I enrolled at RDS and my love for dance grew as I achieved my exams and competed in solos, duets, trios and group dances. Festival season is always one of the busiest times of year in a dance school, but the buzz is incalculable, and some of my proudest moments in dance have been on the stage at a BIFF festival. I am delighted that even though I am now at university, I have been able to continue to dance and captain a team.

Outside of dance, I have also competed in schools' poetry festivals, which I enjoyed thoroughly, getting to share my love for performing arts through different means. This allowed me to work through the emphasis of the piece to create a narrative and portray a story.

My aim as part of the Youth Board is to ensure that children have the same opportunities that I had growing up, being able to compete and share my passion for dance and the arts, with the hope of inspiring the next generation. I want to foster cultural exchange through the arts across the UK and internationally, learning from each other and represent youth voices within the Federation’s work.

I am an amateur composer and cellist from South Ayrshire. As a young cellist, I participated in solo and orchestral classes at the annual Ayrshire Music Festival (a member of the BIFF) and gained a great deal from those experiences. I am passionate about classical, traditional, and contemporary music, and have volunteered and worked at several music festivals across the UK, including a nearby cathedral concert series.
Supporting musicians at every level is an essential part of sustaining healthy cultural identities within local communities. Coming from Ayrshire, I have seen this demonstrated through local organisations I’ve participated in or enjoyed as an audience member, including the South Ayrshire Music Service, Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra, Ayrshire Symphony Orchestra, Dalmellington Brass Band and its Brass Academy, The Cumnock Tryst, and the Cathedral of the Isles summer concert series.

Composing for amateurs and young musicians is both exciting and deeply fulfilling. Hearing new music brought to life is always thrilling, and I see great value in creating opportunities for young musicians not only to perform new works, but also to explore and share unfamiliar musical styles with the wider public. Arts festivals are a wonderful way to blend the familiar with the new.

For people of all ages, sharing and making music has tremendous value, and this must be nurtured especially among young people. Performing arts festivals play a vital role in celebrating emerging talent by offering well-organised, highly visible platforms for growth and recognition.

Hello, my name is Stella McIntyre and I’m a clarsach player from North Ayrshire, on the West Coast of Scotland. I am currently in my first year of university at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for traditional music and am thrilled to be a part of BIFF’s Youth Board programme! I grew up surrounded by music in both the classical and traditional streams since the age of 4 and subsequently fell in love with the creative arts.

As a result, I have been involved as a performer and ambassador in numerous different festivals (including my local festival, the Ayrshire music festival) across the country, many of which are in association with BIFF. These experiences within festivals have boosted my confidence as well as my communication skills, and overall awareness of the accessibility of arts.

Throughout the last few months, I have been engaged heavily in music, gaining exposure to the creative arts, refining my technical skills, and exploring my individuality as a musician. Studying in Glasgow has allowed me to be immersed into the diverse musical scene here, which has improved my overall knowledge of the various festivals and community work that is available throughout the creative arts industry.

I have a deep passion and love for giving back to my community, and as a member of the Youth Board, I am excited to collaborate with like-minded artists to help ensure equal opportunities and access for young people, wanting to be involved in the creative arts industry. Moreover, I am eager to highlight the importance of festivals and help to promote their growth to all areas across the UK.