Australian Youth Orchestra
AYO National Music Camp 2016
2 weeks. 7 concerts. Over 230 musicians.
AYO National Music Camp offers the opportunity for aspiring musicians, composers and arts administrators to take part in a world-class training program that offers participants the chance to work with leading conductors, soloists and orchestral tutors. In 2016 National Music Camp saw AYO return to Canberra, where our musicians worked with an exceptional team of conductors, tutors and our two artists-in-residence, accordionist James Crabb and recorder extraordinaire Genevieve Lacey. This year’s camp gave instrumentalists the chance to learn new repertoire, think creatively about building a 21st century artist’s career, work with internationally acclaimed artists, and forge lifelong friendships with musicians from around the country.
This year AYO National Music Camp took on a slightly different format, with two artists-in-residence coming on board to mentor, perform and engage with the participants, over 65% of who were attending their first AYO program. James Crabb worked with musicians for the first week of the camp, and performed in the first orchestral concerts – delighting audiences with a performance of Piazolla’s Aconcagua: Concerto for bandoneon and orchestra. The second week saw musicians work with Genevieve Lacey, who performed Kats-Chernin’s modern work Re-inventions for recorder and string orchestra. It was a privilege for musicians to be able to perform alongside these artists, and learn from their unique entrepreneurial approach to developing their musical career.
With the help of tutors, staff, and the talented participants in our Orchestral Management, Sound Production, Words About Music and Composition programs, we were able to deliver seven public concerts at Canberra’s Llewellyn Hall. Our Orchestral Concerts filled the venue with sound and showcased the musicians’ ability to learn and perform challenging new repertoire, whilst the Advanced Chamber Music Concert highlighted our musicians’ technical skills, focus, and their ability to work together. The Brass and Percussion Concert let the beating of drums and the fanfare of trumpets take centre stage, and the Composition Concert premiered new works by young Australian composers taking part in the Composition program.