New England will come alive with the sound of 250 young instrumentalists this week as the Sydney Youth Orchestras (SYO) return with its Youth Orchestral Camp (YOC) to the region.
James Pensini, SYO’s Head of Orchestral Training and Artistic Programming, told the New England Times that this year, the music school has brought four orchestras with nearly 250 young musicians for three public concerts in the region.
At the same time, 50 or so local music students will have the chance to join one of SYO’s orchestras for the week as part of the YOC, living, rehearsing, and performing under the guidance of conductors, tutors, and industry professionals who are among NSWs finest.
“It’s a really great chance to see some of the state’s best young musicians performing together, not just in one orchestra but in four you wouldn’t normally see in this region, ” James said.
“People will also get to hear one of Armidale’s best young musicians, Max Buckland, performing the First Movement of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto.”
The Western Sydney Youth Orchestra (WSYO) and Richard Gill Chamber Orchestra (RGCO), with new local recruits, will hold a concert in the Gunnedah Town Hall on April 19 from 2pm to 3:30pm.
At the same time, SYO’s other two Orchestras, the Symphonic Wind Orchestra (SWO) and Western Sydney Youth Orchestra (WSYO) will perform at the Inverell Town Hall.
On April 20, all the musicians will return to Armidale for the main event, a combined concert at the University of New England’s Lazenby Hall from 12 to 1:30 p.m.
“At the Saturday concert, expect to hear from all four different orchestras, with the regional students blended in, we have local students from New England in all the orchestras,” James said.
“We will have a lot of orchestral favourites, but a few surprises too, some of our repertoires will be decided while we are up here, once we meet all our regional students.”
Initially sparked by an invitation from Corinne Arter, co-CEO of the New England Conservatorium of Music, James says this is the second year SYO has returned to New England after a successful first run last year.
“We are really looking forward to performing at Lazenby Hall, it’s a wonderful concert venue, we were hoping to play there last year too,” he said.
“It’s actually worked out well this year as the wonderful Piano Plus, who are our neighbours in Sydney, are running a piano school this week as well, there is a lot of music happening in Armidale this week.”
For more information about the upcoming three concerts, check out the SYO event page.
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