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OF THE ORCHESTRA’S ROUGHLY 75 MEMBERS, 21 ARE FROM THE FREDERICTON AREA
LORI GALLAGHER THE DAILY GLEANER
You won’t want to miss a rare musical event coming to the Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m.
That afternoon, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra will bring its Inspiring Excellence concert tour to Fredericton, featuring Jean-Philippe Tremblay as guest conductor.
The path to this exciting concert has its roots in another collaboration that took place last year, says Don Matheson, Chief Operating Officer of the NBYO.
“Last summer, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra had an amazing collaboration with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas,”he says.
The YOA did a two-week residency in New Brunswick, which he says is kind of a musical boot camp training program.
“These are the top musicians under 30 years of age from all the Americas,” says Matheson.“The Youth Orchestra of the Americas was also collaborating last summer on tour with the Orchestre de la Francophonie.”
Jean-Philippe Tremblay is the artistic director of the Orchestre de la Francophonie. Having him as guest conductor this weekend is a chance to not only rekindle a friendship, says Matheson, it also opens doors for New Brunswickers who may have an interest in auditioning for the Orchestre de la Francophonie.
In a statement to the NBYO, Tremblay says he’s looking forward to meeting with the wonderful players in the orchestra.
Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Artistic Director of Orchestre de la Francophonie
“Their level of excellence and their dedication to music has become a well-known fact all over the world. The work being done by the entire team, among them Ken MacLeod (president of the NBYO) and Antonio Delgado (NBYO conductor), is making all of Canada very proud” he says. “Making music at a high level is an important thing, but doing it with all of your heart is what the NBYO and Sistema NB is all about.”
While he’s in Fredericton, Tremblay will also be doing some outreach. On Saturday morning, he’s conducting a workshop with the Fredericton Youth Orchestra.
Jason Flores, conductor of the FYO, says Tremblay is an excellent example of how music can shape and change a community for the better.
“Fredericton could use talent like his to move the city into a place where music can become a common staple in every household once again” he says in a statement to the NBYO.
The goal, whenever the NBYO or Sistema New Brunswick spend time in a community, is to leave something behind.
“It’s not just about us. We want to see if we can touch people and enthuse them about orchestra music and maybe give them something they haven’t seen before, something that will whet their appetite and bring them back” says Matheson.
The members of the NBYO are excited about their upcoming weekend in Fredericton.
“I really enjoy the environment I’m surrounded with when the orchestra gets together. I get to play and perform music that’s passionate, and I also get to hang out with my musician friends,” says Sean Jinhyuk Park, 16, a member of the orchestra for five years and the principle double bass. Every concert weekend starts with a Friday evening practice.
“I’ve invited my friends in the orchestra to stay over at my place,” says Sean. “We’re most likely going to chitchat and play video games when we get home.”
They’ll spend all day Saturday at École Sainte-Anne practising, then practise until noon on Sunday.
“We perform pieces that the audience will enjoy and that the players are passionate about,” he says. “Like all NBYO concerts, it will be fabulous. Not only will you be hearing great music, you’ll feel the joy and different emotions that the musicians will express in each piece.”
Maggie Kerr, 13, has been in the NBYO for two years. She plays cello.
“I like being part of the orchestra because it’s fun to play great orchestral music with other kids who are also passionate about music, and I met some really great people and made some new friends,” she says.“We also have a great conductor, Antonio Delgado, who inspires us to do our best.”
The NBYO has had the opportunity to play with some great artists. Last summer, for example, they played with David Myles and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, she says, and this March they’ll play with Measha Brueggergosman.
This weekend, Maggie is excited to play with their guest conductor, as she enjoys learning from other musicians.
That’s one of the things that 17-year-old Sidney Murgatroyd is most looking forward to as well. He’s in his third year with the NBYO and plays the viola.
“Getting to perform here in Fredericton is going to be great, because that way my friends can see it,” he says.
He’s also looking forward to seeing his orchestra friends. What he loves about being part of the NBYO is the music and the community.
“Everyone is very close and we’re all good friends,”he says.
Sidney encourages people to come out to see the show on Sunday, as they only perform once a year in each city.
“It’s also really good music. I believe if anyone is interested in classical music at all, they should definitely go see it,” he says.
This season’s NBYO repertoire includes Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1 in G Minor – Winter Daydreams,” as well as the “Star Wars Suite for Orchestra” by John Williams.
To help local music, band and performing arts programs, the NBYO has offered Fredericton High School, Leo Hayes High School, École Sainte-Anne and Fredericton Youth Orchestra the chance to raise money by selling tickets to Sunday’s concert.
“We let them keep 50 per cent of the proceeds from any of the tickets that they sell” says Matheson.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, and can also be purchased at Westminster Books, the University of New Brunswick’s Centre for Musical Arts or at the door if any are available.
“We’re really blessed with a wide community interest in what we do,” says Matheson. “I think it’s fuel for our outreach, as our Sistema NB program reaches six communities across the province and over 700 children in free after-school orchestra music five days a week.”
Inspiring Excellence will be presented by the NBYO on Sunday, Feb.21, at 2 p.m. at Théâtre Bernard-Poirier at Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne. Harry Forestell and Kathleen Duguay will be the emcees for the event.
