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Youth orchestra to perform Myles’ recent hits alongside the singer-songwriter on March 22
The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra will find its “inner ninja” next month in Moncton.
The group of about 75 highly talented musicians will team up with Juno-award winning singer-songwriter David Myles in the NBYO’s annual fundraising concert on March 22 at the Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Centre.
Not only will the orchestra get to perform last year’s mega-hit “Inner Ninja,” made famous by Myles and collaborator, Canadian rapper Classified, they’ll also learn and play a few other Myles songs, which span several genres.
The announcement about the concert NBYO On The Boulevard featuring David Myles was made last week and tickets went on sale shortly after.
Orchestra president and CEO Ken MacLeod said if people are looking to grab some tickets, they had better do it soon.
He said there’s been huge interest in the concert already and more than two-thirds of the seats have been sold.
The NBYO has been looking to team up with Myles once more, ever since their first performance two years ago at the East Coast Music Awards, which were held in Moncton.
Percussionist Olivier Martel said playing with a guest artist is always fun but to perform with someone like Myles is a whole other level.
“It’s such a great opportunity for us to play with someone who’s not specifically in the classical genre of music,” the 21-year-old Université de Moncton student said. “We’ll be playing in a different setting that’s not so strict, with a little less pressure. We can have fun and I would say it will be fun in getting to know another artist as we rehearse, too.”
Myles, originally from Fredericton, continues to wow audiences as he tours from coast to coast, receiving rave reviews everywhere he goes. Not only has he worked with Classified several times, Myles is establishing himself across genres ranging from his duet with opera diva Measha Brueggergosman, “Whole to My Half,” to his new co-writing credit on fellow New Brunswicker Matt Andersen’s record Weightless.
Speaking to the Times & Transcript from Toronto yesterday afternoon, Myles said he is likely just as excited as the young musicians are to join the orchestra on stage again.
He said the talent and professionalism the orchestra exuded in 2012 blew him away and he has no doubts the NBYO will do it this time around, too.
“I grew up in New Brunswick and I played trumpet,” Myles said. “I was a huge school band guy and imagined myself as playing in an orchestra, so I know the ensemble relationship, the people working in that kind of environment.
“They’re really quite incredible and it’s an amazing accomplishment to play that type of music. It’s really valuable to New Brunswick. I would say I’m certainly excited as they are.”
MacLeod said the proceeds raised from ticket sales will go directly to the general operations and the work of the NBYO but it also includes this year’s other highlight: the trip to Vienna, Austria, in July to compete in the 2014 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival.
“Of course, the international tour is in foremost of our thinking,” he said. “The concert with David is actually a great opportunity for people in Moncton to hear them before they leave for the tour.”
The concert also provides on the spot proof of what the community’s support in the orchestra goes towards.
“It’s a beautiful way to do it because you see what exactly what you’re donating to,” Myles said. “You immediately see results … these kids, young adults, they’re totally excelling, while having fun. You see that in sports, in other things and now in music. That’s what it’s about.”
Tickets for the concert, which begins at 7 p.m. March 22, are $28 and are available at ticketwindow.ca or by calling 1-877-700-3130.
