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CAMPBELLTON – Fewer than 500 people took advantage of a cultural event in Campbellton 20 years in the making.
On Jan. 12, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra performed at the Restigouche Theatre for the first time in Restigouche in close to 20 years. While the event was much-publicized, the weather of Jan. 11 likely had much to do with the turnout at the two-hour show.
The ensemble, numbering about 80 youths aged 12-20, was led by former Campbelltontian Joey Roy who has served as the orchestra manager for the NBYO since 2011. After three songs, including Zigeunerweisen in which Sienna Cho performed an amazing violin solo, there was a brief intermission in which people were encouraged to support the NBYO in the lobby where they could buy various promotional material offered by the NBYO.
Following the intermission, the orchestra, which won gold at an international event in 2011, played almost an hour straight in its rendition of Symphony No. 9 (New World) in E Minor, Op. 95, which received a standing ovation.
The group arrived in Campbellton on Jan. 10 and was hosted by the Campbellton Rotary Club, which also served a meal at the Village Nursing Home on Jan. 11.
Executive director Don Matheson was very appreciative of the reception received by the NBYO in Campbellton.
“The welcome we received when we got here Friday and the treatment we received all weekend was second to none,” said Matheson. “We are very pleased to have launched our 2014 season here in Campbellton and hopefully it won’t be another 20 years before we come back.
For more information on the NBYO, visit nbyo-ojnb.ca.
Here are a few photos of some of the performers of the NBYO. While none come from Campbellton this year, four do come from its sister city, Bathurst.
All photos courtesy of Trevor McNally of the Campbellton Tribune.
