Australian Youth Orchestra
AYO Bloggers: Direct from Adelaide
Hot off the back of a very successful two weeks in Canberra, the ninety-four musicians that made up the Australian Youth Orchestra had less than a week to cool off their instruments, re-pack their suitcases, say “hello” (and “goodbye”) to their folks, and hop-a-plane over to South Australia for AYO’s highly anticipated Adelaide concert, featuring the extraordinary James Morrison.
Aside from Adelaide’s infamous heatwave and excitement over the inclusion of dessert as part of their daily meals, AYO’s team of blogging musicians made particular note of the experience(s) they had working with conductor James Judd this season. As principal of the Second Violins, Estelita Rae noted: Even in the first rehearsal, Maestro James Judd was pushing us to extend ourselves into the music even though we have a week of rehearsal still to come. Working on a passage with the violins he explains that ‘some of you are singing, some of you are just playing the violin’. After that, the two sections played totally differently, thinking about the musical line rather than the vertical strokes on the page.
Horn player, Stephanie Davis, had nothing but praise for Maestro Judd, describing one particularly exciting rehearsal: [Judd] got every person to move to an entirely new position in the orchestra for the Mussorgsky. It was hilarious fun! Apart from being utterly ridiculous, with a blazing trumpet right up the front, and violinists way back in the percussion section, it caused us to listen out and hear new parts, and to take note of where we individually fit into the fabric of the orchestra at different times.
With Judd’s invaluable tutelage under their belts, the orchestra were soon welcoming James Morrison into the room for a whirlwind two days of rehearsal prior to the concert at Adelaide Town Hall. Performing Graeme Koehne’s High Art, Morrison was struck by the musicians’ skill and incredible energy. The feeling was mutual. Trumpet player, Owen Morris, wrote: [I]t was such a privilege to work with one of my idols. As a trumpet player, I have always respected James for his ease of playing around the horn, charisma, and oozing musicianship. The chance to work with both James Judd and James Morrison has been extraordinary and the things I have learned just from listening to them will stay with me throughout my career.
Read the above blogs in their entirety here.