14 January 2026
Sound and Fury: AYO’s Summer Music Festival off to an electrifying start
By Izzy Eagles (2026 Media and Communication)
The Australian Youth Orchestra’s Summer Music Festival kicked off with ‘sound and fury’ on Saturday night, in the first of two full orchestral concerts at this year’s National Music Camp. Gleaming with purple AYO colours, Elder Hall was full of excited audience members who were blown away by the young musicians’ talents, in a concert full of dance-inspired works.
The Alexander Orchestra opened the show with Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus Overture, conducted from memory by Andrea Quinn. Quinn’s committed conducting style elicited a mammoth sound right from the opening chords. Oboist Joshua Shin’s delicately shaped phrases danced over humming strings, while Australian born, Austrian trained flautist Nathan Rinaldy captivated the audience with sparkling flute solos. While the reception of Beethoven’s overture at the 1801 premiere was mixed, the Alexander Orchestra’s performance was welcomed with a deafening roar.
Andrea Quinn conducting the Alexander Orchestra in Sound & Fury concert on the 10th of January; Credit: Claudio Raschella
After this exhilarating opening, the strings launched into the racing lines of Anna Clyne’s Sound and Fury, the Alexander Orchestra expertly navigating the musical chaos of the piece. Confidently delivered interjecting brass lines and fast running scales in the woodwinds intermingled with mechanical string lines, showcasing their technical proficiency. The audience were delightfully surprised two-thirds through when a pre-recorded voice appeared as if from nowhere reciting words from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow…” Quinn’s conducting in the final moments of the piece was so electric that you could barely see her baton.
A vulnerable on stage interview facilitated by host Bridget Hutchinson with resident composer and tutor Thomas Green fostered excitement and anticipation for his piece to come. Green described the thinking behind his Kung fu-inspired work, Chow Gar: Guan Dao: “Music is motion… music is human movement… music is a kind of kung fu.” The Amadio Chamber Orchestra directed by Glenn Christensen lived up to this vision. Christensen was so physically committed to the music, with percussionist Domenic Lamattina driving the ensemble from the back seat, embodying the very concept of music as motion. Concertmaster Morgan Ip took to a meditative solo, with sophisticated phrasing supported by the first violins.
Bridget Hutchinson (2026 Media and Communication) interviews Thomas Green (Composer-in-Residence); Credit: Claudio Raschella
Fanny Mendelssohn (neé Hensel) rarely performed String Quartet in E-Flat Major concluded the first half. Originally written for two violins, viola and cello, the Amadio Chamber Orchestra convinced us that the piece could have been conceived for their expanded ensemble, with the double bass section adding depth and warmth. The second movement’s furious middle section was fueled by first violist Evan O’Connor cleanly executing rapid semiquavers in a solo that transferred to deep rumbling basses. The ensemble continued to deliver in the following two movements with indulgent violin melodies, buttery cello lines and a breathtaking solo by Christensen. The enlarged ensemble added to the thrill and drama of Hensel’s long violin melodies as they raced over the violas, cellos and basses in the final movement, leaving the audience cheering.
The Amadio Chamber Orchestra lead by concertmaster Morgan Ip; Credit: Claudio Raschella
Following the interval, another movement from Thomas Green’s The Sounds of Chow Gar: Fut Sao, this time directed by Alan Buribayev and played by the Bishop Orchestra, opened the second half of the concert. Deep viola lines brought a sense of intense focus to the hall, building up to angular musical gestures in the percussion section–you could feel the magnetic connection between percussionists William Smith and Bryn Wood during their duo feature. Making for a truly impressive workout, Buribayev and the entire orchestra sustained their energy right through to the piece’s final moments.
To end the concert, the Bishop Orchestra navigated the challenging content and technical difficulties of Béla Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite with exceptional proficiency. The orchestra told a thrilling story through sultry clarinet and bassoon solos by Josephine Daniel and Laura Radajewski respectively, and characterful trombone lines thanks to Luke Berlee, Joshua de Haan, and Angus Hood, which drew the audience into the frantic chase. Of particular note was Luke Berlee’s masterful breath control during his incredibly long solo phrases. Following the gripping final chase, one audience member couldn’t wait a second after the final note before yelling “BRAVO!” and setting off a standing ovation at the back of the hall.
In a concert full of powerful sounds and dramatic fury, the only thing lacking in this performance was Buribayev’s rubber ducky (just ask the Bishop Orchestra’s musicians; if you know, you know).