| |
Feb 22, 2012
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada is proud to announce an exciting two-part collaboration with the Indian National Youth Orchestra. Commencing in 2012, we have accepted 4 string players (2 violinists, a violist, and a cellist) from the Indian Youth Orchestra who will be participating in the entire 2012 NYOC program. These 4 musicians will join us as guests of the NYOC and will be additional musicians and therefore will not replace a Canadian student who has won the audition. Without further ado (and perhaps a drumroll):
Ms. Bianca Mendonca
I am 21 and have graduated in commercial studies, majoring in accounts in April 2011.I am presently doing a course in Alternative medicine using music as a therapeutic aid based on the ancient principles of Ayurveda and Hindustani Classical music. A third generation musician, I commenced my musical studies with the piano and then later proceeded to study the cello from the age of 8. I began playing for the city amateur orchestra from the age of 12 and have been selected to play for events with international collaborations. I also play as a guest with a professional orchestra of various nationalities and have travelled with them to play at the Festival of World Symphony Orchestras in Moscow in June 2010.I was invited to play with the ‘Junge Philharmonie Brandenburg’ , the ‘Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka” and a Sri Lankan cello ensemble of 14 to 16 cellists which took me to Germany, Sri Lanka and Bengaluru in 2009 and 2010. I have passed the Associate examination of the Trinity College of Music, London with Distinction in 2008. I have played chamber music at a festival for the past 2 years together with international artists. I have also performed at a ‘Young Talent Series’, a platform to introduce young artists for the first time on a professional stage at 16. I have assisted in general music classes for children (ages 2 and a half to 6) and teach the cello. I have played pop, jazz and fusion with various reputed artists in Mumbai and Delhi and have recorded for jingles and Bollywood films as solo cellist. I have also been featured on Television on MTV ‘Unplugged’(India) in 2011.
I have been the recipients of several prizes and awards in music since the age of 5. I have sung in my school and college choirs and also in a choir founded and is directed by my mother. I have only very recently begun voice lessons. I began learning the cello with the Director of the local orchestra and have been advancing my technique with the help of visiting cellists.
I am currently the representative for the state of Maharashtra for the India National Youth Orchestra and have played for their recent performance of an opera in collaboration with the Italian Embassy hosted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations for the closing of the Arts Festival in New Delhi in 2011. It was a unique experience meeting and working with musician from 12 different states of India. As a representative, I have been scouting talent, arranging for audition rooms and rehearsed the strings from Mumbai before leaving for Delhi.
 Mr. Ashley Rego
Ashley do Rego began his musical journey at the age of 7 years under the nurturing guidance of Ms Tereza de Figueiredo at the Kala Academy, Goa. His keen interest and evident talent in the Violin saw him bag many prizes and awards including ‘Student of the Year’ award while he was a student at the Kala Academy. Under the guidance of Mrs. Myra Shroff, he successfully completed his LTCL (Licentiate of the Trinity College London in violin recital) exam in 2004. He joined the Kala Academy Department of Western Music as a violin teacher in the same year.
Ashley has won the 2nd prize at the David Menezes National Violin competition in January 2012.
He was selected as First Violinist in the INYO (Indian National Youth Orchestra) under the baton of renowned Indian Conductor Vijay Upadhyaya . INYO is made up of musicians from all over India. Ashley is the representative for the INYO in Goa. He is the sectional leader for Goa and prepares musicians from Goa for the INYO concerts. He prepared the violin & viola section and led sectional rehearsals in Goa for the Cavalleria Rusticana concert in Delhi. This was a fully-staged production, a rare occurrence in India.
Ashley currently plays concerts with the INYO which is constantly gaining recognition for its growing Indian musicians and performances since its inception.
 Mr. Arun Sebastian Rozario
Arun Sebastian Rozario began studying the violin at the age of eight. His consistent diligence and love for music has made him a good violinist and a joy for audiences to watch. He recently completed his Diploma (DipABRSM) in Violin performance from the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music and is looking forward to becoming a full time performer, teacher and musician.
Apart from being a budding soloist, he is the region leader, representative and performing member of the Indian National Youth Orchestra (INYO) for South India. He plays the 1st Violin and has been a sincere member of the INYO since its creation. At its inaugural concert in Kolkata - India he was one of the soloists playing a Vivaldi’s concerto for two violins. He fulfills his role as regional leader by conducting regular sectional practices during the weeks leading up to concerts held by the Indian National Youth Orchestra, thereby guiding and helping the younger generation of string players. He also teaches at the Bangalore School of music and is currently the concertmaster for the Bangalore School of Music chamber orchestra.
He has studied under accomplished violin teachers in the country like concert violinist Jody McComb, Jerome Davis, Assay.
Arun has had the opportunity to meet and train under well known violin performers like Sandra Rudolfi, Ralph D Souza and Andreas Reiner. Most of these opportunities made possible while performing with the INYO.
Though Arun is an engineer who presently works in the corporate world, he fervently pursues his lifelong dream of taking up music as a full time profession.
 Divya Raghunathan
I started learning to play the violin at the age of 10 at the Bangalore School of music. I have also learned to play the viola mostly on my own as there are no viola teachers in Bangalore. I have taken master classes whenever possible from visiting musicians, like Prof. Christine Sorensen from the Haute de Ecole de Music de Lausanne, Switzerland. I play viola in a string quartet called the Young Maestros' Quartet. I have recently passed the grade 8 violin exam conducted by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), London, with merit. I am planning to appear for the ABRSM grade 8 viola practical exam later this year.
World renowned conductor, maestro Vijay Upadhyaya held auditions all over India to select musicians for the India National Youth Orchestra (INYO) and I was selected to play the viola. I took part in a ten day workshop conducted by INYO in Kolkata. We had intensive training from musicians from Austria which included sectional practice, orchestra practice and individual lessons. I learnt several techniques such as spiccato, sautille and ricochet from Mr. Michael Gmasz, an Austrian violist. The workshop culminated in a concert at Kala Mandir, Kolkata.
During the workshop in Kolkata, auditions were held to select around twenty INYO musicians for a performance in Delhi. In this concert the INYO musicians played with musicians from the orchestra of the University of Essen, Germany. I was selected for this concert, where we played all the movements of Beethoven's Symphony No.8. This concert was held to mark the beginning of a year-long celebration of Indo-German collaboration in various fields, and the performance was attended by the visiting German Chancellor. I also got the opportunity to have a masterclass with Prof. Reiner which improved my techniques, notably, the tremolo.
As a member of INYO, I had the opportunity to play for a performance of the Italian opera “La Cavalleria Rusticana” held late last year in New Delhi to celebrate 150 years of Italian unification. For this performance, musicians of INYO were joined by musicians from Italy. A colleague from INYO and I led the viola section. The music was challenging with a lot of tempo variations as well as syncopation. We had to follow the conductor very carefully and also listen to the singers.
I will be taking part in the INYO workshop to be held in Bangalore from 3-11, April 2012. I have been a member of INYO since its inception and every event has been a great learning experience and has instilled a lot of confidence in me. I look forward to many such events in the future.
|
|
