Sydney Youth Orchestras Presents Saturday 30 May, Verbrugghen Hall Saturday 31 May, Riverside Theatre Sydney Youth Orchestras Sydney Youth Orchestras strives to In all aspects of its operations, Sydney nurture and inspire young people to Youth Orchestras is committed achieve artistic excellence by providing to upholding its core values. We the best possible orchestral training pride ourselves on our provision of program. This leads to the highest inspiration, creativity, collaboration and standards of performance supported excellence. by an engaged community of members, parents and stakeholders. SYO is made up of 12 ensembles, with an age range of 6-25. Sydney Youth Orchestra Speer Orchestra SYO Philharmonic John Hopkins Orchestra Peter Seymour Orchestra Camerata Vibrata Symphonic Wind Orchestra Cameratissimo TangoOz Chamber Strings Percussion Ensemble Sinfonietta Upcoming Concerts ^ Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen Romance and Tragedy with Pacific Opera TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo & Juliet: Overture Sydney Grammar School MAHLER Symphony No.5 Conducted by Alexander Briger Conducted by Fabian Russell Friday 2 October, 7pm Friday 6 November Saturday 3 October, 7pm Sydney Town Hall SYO TODDLERS’ PROMS SYO Concerto Competition Final Leichhardt Town Hall Chapter Hall, St Mary’s Cathedral College Peter Seymour Orchestra Sunday 16 August Conducted by John Ockwell 10am Sunday 9 August 9:30, 10:30 & 11:30am 2 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES Conductor Mr Alexander Briger Sydney Youth Orchestra Michael Dauth – Violin The Sydney Youth Orchestra is excited We’re joined by violin virtuoso to present The Ride of the Valkyries. and former Sydney Symphony Wagner’s magnificentDer Ring Ohne concertmaster Michael Dauth for the Worte (The Ring without words), is an world premiere of Concerto for Violin orchestral selection from the world’s and Orchestra by Australian composer most epic opera. It features many Lee Bracegirdle. of The Ring’s best loved moments including the Ride of the Valkyries, Magic Fire Music, Siegfried’s Funeral March and many more. SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES 3 Conductor - Alexander Briger Alexander Briger is the newly appointed de Paris, Radio orchestra of France, Artistic Director for the Sydney Youth Konzerthausorchester, Berlin; and opera Orchestras and is one of the most at such houses as the Royal Opera exciting conductors appearing on the House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, podium today. After studying at the Aix-en-Provence, Theatre du Chatelet, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he Paris, the Komische Oper, Berlin and moved to Munich and in 1993, won first the Canadian Opera Company. He prize at the International Competition has also worked extensively around for Conductors in the Czech Republic. Australia with Opera Australia and all He went on to assist and work the state orchestras. As Artistic and closely with Pierre Boulez and Sir Music Director of the Australian World Charles Mackerras. He has conducted Orchestra, Alexander is a visionary international orchestras such as the leader who regularly works with SYO London Philharmonic, LSO, CBSO, BBC alumni currently placed in major Symphony, Philharmonia, Orchestre orchestras around the world. 4 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES Orchestra Bold = Principal * = Guest Violin 1 Cello Bassoon Darcy Dauth Annabelle Oomens Alison Wormell Samantha Chiu Hikaru Fuminashi Brighdie Chambers Liam Fogarty Joshua Grasso Maria Smith Sarah Qiu Nick McManus Sophia Vasic Katherine Moses Horns Holly Smith Amy Chang Bevan Nicholas Ashkan Khoshab Julia Zhong Eve McEwen Lily Mullin-Chivers Rachel Liang Thomas Edwards Amy Cohen William Goh Lotti Ropert Colin Camphausen Andie Wittenoom Louw Nick Mooney* Miriam Greenbaum Patrick Carreon Katie Garman* David Carreon Levi Johnson* Sagar Nagaraj Double Bass Jack Stephens* Vanessa Li Violin 2 Jessica Brown Trumpet Emily Beauchamp Ethan Ireland Jenna Smith Karen Kong Adrian Whitehall Alfie Carslake Daniel Zhou Annabel Cameron Sam Thompson Vincent Tsang Raphael Coulhon Flute Trombone Anthony Youssef Kinsey Alexander Chris Upton Sabrina Macdonald Elissa Koppen Darcy Shevlin Lizzy Greenhalgh Clara Pitt Jason Ulbrich Pana Panaretos Chloe Hill* Cian Malikides* Tania Ma David Williams* Annia Mao Oboe Callum Hogan Tuba Viola Eve Osborn Yoann Degioanni Sergio Insuasti Kate Mostert Joshua Cannon Toby Debelak* Percussion Calida Tang Rory Wilson Tim Dickinson Clarinet Stuart Rynn Zoe Brown Jarred Mattes Jessica Fang Marlon Schroeder James Julian Oliver Brighton Alexander Pettaras Jessica Budge Mitchell Sloan* Liam Kinney Rachel Thompson* Harp Joanne Baee Kate Moloney SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES 5 This concert presents several extraordinary musical milestones, not only in a historical sense but as a chance for young musicians to grapple with some of the greatest orchestral challenges. Wagner unleashed the full expressive force of the orchestra like never before in his composition of The Ring Cycle, and the work presented today reveals Wagner at the height of his power. Our musicians in the Sydney Youth Orchestra have bravely toiled with the great cultural and artistic significance of this masterpiece, as well as with their sheer virtuosity, however equally challenging is the task of interpreting a world premiere. Ride with them on this tour de force of orchestral music-making! Richard Wagner (1813-1883): The Ring Without Words With the new season of Game of admitted in a letter to a close friend Thrones well under way, what better that “The whole will become – out with time to reflect on a work that in it! I am not ashamed to say so – the many ways laid the foundations of greatest work of poetry ever written.” the numerous fantastic, mythology- The story essentially depicts the rise inspired stories that have achieved cult and fall of gods and civilisations via status in recent years. A precursor to the passage of an accursed ring, authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, George forged from gold stolen from the Lucas and J.K. Rowling, not to mention river Rhine. The famous and strangely the many cast and crew who helped familiar characters include Alberich bring their stories to life, Richard the Nibelungen Dwarf, Brünnhilde the Wagner, combining music, poetry and Valkyrie and Siegfried, grandson of spectacular visual staging, achieved Wotan, the head of the gods. There something unprecedented and unique are however close to thirty individual in the history of aesthetic endeavour. characters and numerous ‘extras’ who all inhabit the multigenerational plotline Wagner created a new world from his on a plane shared by mortals and 19th century romanticized readings immortals. of including the epic tale Das Nibelungenlied, writing every word In order to stage this ‘never-before- of the libretto and every note of the seen-or-heard’ scale of work, which 15 hour score himself. Wagner boldly took Wagner around 25 years of 6 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES compositional and poetic labour, he The orchestra sings on triumphantly built the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the even once all the voices have died largest ever free-standing wooden down in Wagner’s Ring. Wieland, structure. grandson of Richard, explained to Lorin Maazel that the orchestra “is where The gargantuan scale of the it all is – the text behind the text, the performance limits the choices of universal subconscious that binds venues however, thus providing Erich Wagner’s personae one to the other Leinsdorf’s justification for his orchestral and to the proto-ego of legend”. Maazel arrangement. beautifully translated these profound comments after a later performance Erich Leinsdorf was one of the most of the complete cycle: “its orchestra renowned and famously severe score is the Ring itself, coded in sound. conductors of the 20th century, he also Decoded, it becomes story, legend, arranged Wagner’s other epic opera song, philosophy in countless cosmic trilogy Parsifal. Leinsdorf opens The overtones and human undertones.” Ring with the magnificent “Ride of the Valkyries”, moving on to the “Magic Fire - Anthony Albrecht Scene” where Wotan warns any who would attempt to clime his mountain and seize Brünnhilde from the flames. Evidently ignoring the warning, the next musical scene depicts the fearless Siegfried traversing the flames, albeit slightly before he musically ascends Valkyrie Rock. At the break of dawn, we move with Siegfried on his Rhine journey and find ourselves at Hagen’s lair, with the brass ominously hinting at his evil intentions. Suddenly, Siegfried is no more, and his funeral march is followed by the transcendent and overpowering final scene which sees the Rhine reclaim its gold, while in the distance the palace of the gods burns to the ground. SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES 7 Lee Bracegirdle - Composer After early musical studies in Philadelphia, Lee Bracegirdle attended the Juilliard School in New York as a French horn student of James Chambers, earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During his studies he led a multi-faceted free-lance career which involved recordings with many prominent jazz musicians, including Clark Terry, Ornette Coleman, Stanley Clark and Teo Macera. From 1976-1977 he was Co-Principal Horn with México’s Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM and Principal Horn with the Chamber Orchestra of México City. In 1977 he moved to Germany, where he co-founded the Chicago-based Kodaly Academy. Germany’s premier brass quintet, Since 1999 he has been Musical