At 5.30pm on Friday we'll be celebrating the success of our Tomorrow’s Warriors Biggish Band (under-19s) in the 2010 Yamaha Jazz Experience Band Competition. Earlier this year, Tomorrow’s Warriors fended off ensembles from Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior Department, London and Chetham's School of Music, Manchester to win the Finals of the competition at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

For their first of two celebratory performances – the second will be at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London on Saturday 20 November – our award winning young Warriors will be joined by two very special guests: Kuumba Youth Music, an inspiring new organisation enabling young people aged 5-18 to fulfil their potential through access to high quality classical music education; and Verse Dance Arena who develop young people aged 18-25 as dancers who can compete for professional work at the highest levels and go on to share their dance, technique and knowledge for the benefit of the wider dance community.

Many thanks to photographer Howard Denner for documenting the three recent Dune and Tomorrow's Warriors gigs at the King's Place Festival. Here are Myrna Hague with Gary Crosby's Nu Troop, The Tomorrow's Warriors Quartet and The Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band.

On Saturday May 1st at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, the Tomorrow's Warriors Biggish Band competed along with two other jazz ensembles in the 11-19 age group finals of this year's Yamaha Jazz Experience.....and won!

The Biggish Band line-up of Zuri Jarrett-Boswell - piano, Will Burcher – double bass, Ruben Fox – tenor saxophone, Rosie Turton - trombone, Oneke Tebbs – alto saxophone, Moses Boyd – drums and Mark Kavuma – trumpet, performed Sonny Rollins’ ‘Oleo’ and Charlie Parker’s ‘Cool Blue’.

The judging panel of Peter Ind, Julian Joseph, Andrea Vicari, Lianne Carrol and Richard Michael were looking for creativity, musicality and communication - with both the audience and between band members, and awarded the band the first prize of a prestige gig at Ronnie Scott's and £3,000 to spend on Yamaha prizes.

Gary Crosby, Tomorrow's Warriors Artistic Director, said: “We have worked really hard and this prize is so important to us as it acknowledges that although our ambitions are not yet fully realized, we’re moving in the right direction. All the young musicians in the Tomorrow’s Warriors programme continually exceed my expectations with their passion, dedication and love of playing jazz together as a group”

More on the Yamaha Music Education website