National Youth Orchestra of Canada - Student Blog - Student Blog / Blogue des Étudiants

Encore - Dvořák

July 14th saw to a reappearance of the Dvořák String Quintet, a treat for visiting board members and fellow orchestra colleagues alike.

Faculty Concert - Friday the 13th

Orchestra Begins

After days packed with fabulous chamber music, we were immediately plunged into orchestral rehearsal. Having to wear concert dress for professionally taken photos, here are a few quick candids I managed to take that day.

[ Meagan Turner | Scott Ross-Molyneux | Violins | The ever lovely Julien Simard (: | July 12th, 2012 ]

Student Concert - Conclusion

The final instalment to the whirlwind of student concerts took place in a different venue this time around, UWO`s Davenport Theatre. Managing to catch the first two pieces of the programme before leaving to perform myself, the Becker had fantastic rhythmic drive and ensemble work between the entire percussion section, while the Mendelssohn quartet possessed a very pure and beautiful opening adagio which lead into the rest of the captivating performance.

Unfortunately, I missed out on the Hétu Wind Quintet, but many thanks and credit to Luke Chang who took great shots of all the remaining performances from the evening. This leads to the Haydn Quartet, also known as “Fifths”, a name which describes the prominence of falling fifths in the theme (fun thing to note - this was the Op. 76 no. 2, and no. 1 was previously performed the previous Thursday).

The famed Ravel String Quartet was a delight to listen to; great blending between the players, and, of course, with very dynamic pizzes and energy from all. And the Stravinsky Concerto for piano and winds, a rich and grand piece, beautifully highlighted the large ensemble and intriguing, very rhythmic, piano playing.

This July 7^th programme was a very lovely, very entertaining, conclusion to an intensely packed few days of chamber performances.

Bravo to all.

[ Kyle Reyes | Jay Mannion | Alex Petrenko | Kyle Reyes | Dave Burns | Colin Frank | - Becker, Away without Leave | Stelth Ng, Sunny Chan, Becca Gans, Kendra Grittani – Mendelssohn, String Quartet Op. 13 no.2 | Sara Moorhouse, Slavko Popovic, Anna Norris, James Tizzard, Natasha Sullivan – Hétu, Wind Quintet | Slavko | Laura Hillis, Cecilia Gee, Chantelle Jubenville, Charles Cayer – Haydn, Op. 76 no. 2, “Fifths” | Cecilia | Charles | Chantelle | Laura | Anne-Sophie Paquet, Gabriele Thielmann, Jonah Poplove, Nicolas Stephenson – Ravel String Quartet | Jonah | Gabi | Anne-Sophie | Nico | Ria Kim | Graham Isaak, Stéphane Krims, Daniel Lalonde, Brandyn Lewis, Joël Girard, Kyle Reyes, Chris Graham, Vlad Kalinichenko, Julien Simard, Marshall Gayman, Olivier Brisson, Emily Lair, James Tizzard, Joshua Wood, Daniel Mills, Peter Gajdek, Taz Eddy, Steve Donegan, Bianca Chambul, Kevin Harris, Kelly Hermann, Sara Moorhouse, Lara Deutsch, Laurence Neill-Poirier, David Gazaille, Aidan Dugan, Gabriel Lemieux, Natasha Sullivan, Ria Kim, Jaeyoung Chong – Stravinsky, Concerto for Piano and Wind | Greg Oh | THANK YOU Luke for photos ]

Student Concert - Saturday Afternoon

July 7^th featured a programme of six chamber music performances from my fellow colleagues.

The opening piece, Jolivet`s Petite Suite for Flute, Viola, and Harp, was a five movement suite, rich with interweaving sound and exquisite harmonies. Unfortunately, I experienced some difficulties and was unable to procure any photos. My apologies.

Kondo`s Standing Violin Trio was comprised in such a way that each player had a note, either drawn by bow or pizzicato, in sequence one after the other in such a way that, collectively, a single musical line was created. Fast paced, it was intriguing to how each sound connected together from the three individual performers.

Playful and humorous, the Haydn Op.33 no. 2 String Quartet was enthralling and drew laughter from the audience. The suspense and joking manner made it all the more entertaining.

The Partita for Wind Quintet, by American composer Irving Fine, was a neo-classical piece that was intricate and extremely alluring, a highlight of the afternoon.

Shostakovich 8, one of my personal favourites, was a powerful and gritty performance with obvious self-branding from the repeated utilization of the DSCH motif.

The Beethoven Quartet no. 5 performed was modeled upon Mozart`s quartet in the same A Major key. The first breath taken was stately, and the group`s subsequent performance was lively and cohesive.

Student Concert - Friday Evening

Friday evening saw to a change of location from Von Kuster Hall to St. Paul`s Cathedral. The blistering heat of the venue was stifling and incredibly sweat-inducing, surely a great challenge for players to endure. Though faces were stained with the sweat of arduous determination, each performance was successfully accomplished with great musicality and stamina.

The brass quintet provided a great variety of styles from composers Holborne, Bach, and Gabrieli. Their stentorian sound ever the more powerful in the grand vastness of the cathedral.

Philip Glass` fifth string quartet, though possessing a repetitive structure, was nonetheless very entertaining to listen to and performed with great vitality and core sound.

Written with specific musicians in mind, the Nielsen Wind Quintet had catching discourse between instruments, perhaps portraying the characteristics of the players he based his composotion upon.

A breathtaking performance, the Dvořák String Quintet was amazingly inspirational and beautifully performed. Though the writing had, as did the Glass, many repeated themes, each performer contributed a great sense of spirit and verve, constructing a very brilliant rendition of the piece.

Student Concert - Thursday Evening

The evening of the 5^th exhibited performances of harp duo, string quartet, wind quintet, as well as piano quintet.

The Prélude, Fugue, and Variation for Two Harps were ever enchanting and beautiful.

Haydn`s Op. 76 no. 1 string quartet was performed with great coherence, a pleasure to see the players thoroughly enjoying themselves, smiles beaming at each other.

Quirky and entertaining, the Françaix Quintet no. 1 was a great piece to listen for dialogue between instruments, especially so with the line of repeated notes continued throughout the first movement.

The Brahms piano quintet was executed with driving vigour, a spectacular piece with a very intensive third movement (y) .

Student Concert - Thursday Afternoon

July 5th, more than a week ago, saw to the beginning of a profusion of Chamber Music Concerts. Five separate shows were performed over the course of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; a thoroughly inspirational and enjoyable experience.

Thursday afternoon contained a grand variety of styles and instruments. The various brass and woodwind combinations resounded greatly in Von Kuster Hall, as did the strings mesmerize the audience with lyrical passagework.

Berio`s Opus Zoo combined the abilities of wind quintet along with narration. A very unique sound arose from their story-telling in combination with instruments, a diverse mix between articulated voice and playing.

Four violinists came together and performed Telemann`s Concerto no.2, a piece which very beautifully explored the harmonies available from the high registers of such an instrument.

Duo Caprice by Schickele was performed with two violins, a wonderfully engaging pair. The piece itself was innovative and possessed amusing aspects, with quotations from Mozart, Vivalid, Prokofiev, and Haydn.

Another treat was seeing our fellow colleagues from the Indian National Youth Orchestra play Haydn`s Op. 9 no. 2 string quartet, an extremely lovely performance with great energy.

Faculty Concert

Our second faculty concert took place July 3^rd, a programme which featured percussion, flute, as well as an oboe, horn, and piano trio.

Jolivet`s Suite en Concert pour Flute et Percussion married the diverse and contrasting abilities of both instruments in an eclectic four movement composition.

The Temazcal for Maracas and Tape, performed by Aiyun Huang, was executed with great vivacity and ended in what was perceived to be a rather humorous tone as the tape transitioned to vacation-esque music.

Chaconne, composed by Erik Ross, was specially commissioned for faculty members Gabe Radford and Sarah Jeffrey. Overall, the trio had excellent group dynamic, obviously well matched, and played incredibly sweetly.

Madrigals

The beginning of this week, July 2nd, saw to utilizing our other musical abilities to rejoice in the art of singing. Divided into smaller groups, the orchestra worked arduously, preparing separate madrigals to perform onstage later that evening. The madrigals, choral compositions of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, were presented with light-hearted, entertaining humour.

It was simply. . . Madrigal.

Faculty Round Table

An enriching opportunity, the round table session provides precious insight as the current faculty directly respond to the orchestra`s many pressing questions.

Student Concert - Percussion&Winds

The Dvořák Serenade for Winds, as well as two percussion pieces composed by John Cage, were performed July 1^st in yet another immensely enjoyable chamber music concert.

The first Cage piece, Credo in Us, incorporated the radio, blasting various sound clips ranging from current popular music to a French broadcast, as well as piano in accompaniment to the intensive percussion.

Third Construction was a cacophony of rising tension and driving force, a wonderful intermingling of various instruments.

In constrast, the Dvořák provided an exquisite lyrical blend between winds and strings. It was coheisve and harmonious, a truly great collaboration.

[ Kyle Reyes, Colin Frank, Jeremy Dyck, Rosalind Zhang – Cage, Credo in Us | Alex Petrenko, Jacob Mannion, Dave Burns, Aiyun Huang – Cage, Third Construction | Aiyun, Alex, Jacob, Dave | Hugo Lee, Natasha Sullivan, Mike Macaulay, Anna Norris, Kevin Harris, Hugo Rinfret, Nicolas Stephenson, James Tizzard, Olivier Brisson, Emily Lair, Slavko Popovic, Nicholas Kerr-Barr – Dvořák, Serenade for Winds Op. 44 | Kyle Reyes | Alex Petrenko | Jeremy Dyck&Radio | A lonely instrument left onstage by Nicholas Kerr-Barr | Colin Frank | Jeremy Dyck | Kyle Reyes | Anna Norris | Emily Lair ]

Student Concert - Winds

June 30^th featured the premier student concert, a program which starred four wind quintets with works of Mozart, Danzi, and Reicha. The rich resonance which saturated the hall provided a pleasant consonance of overlapping textures.

[ Kelly Hermann, Gabriele Lemieux, Kevin Harris, Olivier Brisson, David Gazaille – Mozart, Fantasie in F minor K. 594 | Julie Potvin-Turcotte, Nicholas Kerr-Barr, Joshua Wood, Michael Macaulay, Aidan Dugan – Danzi, Wind Quintet in B Flat, Op. 56 no. 1 | Lara Deutsch, Hugo Lee, Emily Lair, Bianca Chambul, Laurence Neill-Poirier – Daniz, Wind Quintet in D minor, Op. 68 no. 3 | Kevin Harris | Julie Potvin-Turcotte | Michael Macaulay | Sara Moorhouse | Natasha Sullivan | Hugo Lee | Bianca Chambul | Sara, Hugo, Emily, Bianca, Laurence ]

NYOC Beginnings - Strings Master Class

Young musicians from far reaches of the globe have met for the 52nd National Youth Orchestra of Canada, lending their talents to what will be a diverse and expressive arrangement of players. But, before we are able to don performance dress and await the first downbeat, eager to produce an intricate plethora of sounds, we first are working in smaller ensembles for our current chamber session.

A strings master class was held June 29th, where the SuperNova Quartet as well as other faculty provided insightful feedback.

[Ashely Rego, Arun Rozario, Bianca Mendonca, Divya Raghunathan - Haydn, Op. 9 no. 2 | Colin Repas, Jeremy Dyck, Genevieve de Caen, Young Ho Yoo - Beethoven, Op. 18 no. 5 | Hanna Williamson, Naomi Dumas, Calvin Yang, Kitty Chan - Haydn, Op. 76 no. 1 | Blake Pouliot, Nora Schreckenschlager, Hugo Rinfret, Cameron Crozman, Catherine Gray - Dvorak, Quintet Op. 77 | Nick Denton-Protsack - Shostakovich 8 | Lauren Tyros - Shostakovich 8 | Jeremy Dyck | Stelth Ng, Sunny Chan - Mendelssohn, Op. 13 | Blake Pouliot | Cameron Crozman | Gabriele Thielmann - Ravel | Nico Stephenson - Ravel ]

T-Dottin' the End

Episode No. 15 of Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel and the Orchestra perform one last time, in Toronto, Ontario, and various members reflect on their emotions during the last 24 hours of the session.

(sorry for the delay in getting this out)

An Interview with the Maestro

A Special Additional Vlog to Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel takes the time to ask the 2011 Conductor, Maestro Jonathan Darlington, some questions about music, his time with the orchestra and being a conductor.

If the above video doesn't embed, please follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ey5TmybIOE

Mann on Harp

Special Additional Vlog to Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada

Ron Cohen Mann does some field work and interviews the 2011 harpists, in Brockville, ON.

Thanks Ron!

If the above video does not embed, please follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADM0NKee7HA

Mann on Oboe

Special Additional Vlog to Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada

Ron Cohen Mann does some field work and shares some vital information about the oboe, in Brockville, ON.

Thanks Ron!

If the above video does not embed correctly, please follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L15qdlaODM

Brockin' and K-Town

Episode No. 14 of Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel shares some of the orchestra's experiences in both Brockville and Kingston, ON. Dancing is included.

Also, please be on the lookout for some supplementary episodes, including an interview with Maestro Jonathan Darlington.

In case the above video doesn't load, please follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV8ITGQnlyc

A Quick Recap of Montreal

Episode No. 13 of Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel takes a moment to remind his audience what went on during the 2011 Montreal Stop.

The (Mari)Time of My Life

Episode No. 12 of Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel spends some quality time in Nova Scotia, and discusses eating on Tour.

Enjoy!

If the above video doesn't embed, please follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhbZWCcnOvY

The Bus.

Episode No. 11 of Daniel Mills Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel explores what it means to be on the bus for 45+ hours.

If the above video doesn't embed, please access it at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1GLZp0kGMk

New London and the Paranormal

Episode No. 10 of Daniel Mills' Vlogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Daniel does some Paranormal Investigation while in New London, NH.

Please note: Viewer discretion is advised. Also, this doesn't necessarily depict an accurate portrayal of New London, NH, which in reality was a very lovely, quaint, town.

Link in case video does not load: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6nKbB58YVc

Daniel en Français!

Episode No. 9 of Daniel Mills' Blogging Experience with the 2011 National Youth Orchestra of Canada

Daniel se trouve à Mt. Tremblant pour le premier vlog en français!

or the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NhIw0BNHvs

Brockville and Kingston

We’re officially done with our Shostakovich program! On Sunday we arrived in Brockville midday, and our first stop was finding a bite of lunch. We were excited to learn that the orchestra concert was not the only attraction of the day: there was also Ribfest. While Brockville was one of the smaller stops on our tour, the magic of Ribfest was captivating, and though it was no Montreal we still had great fun looking around. We held our sound check in the town’s lovely little theatre, and we were excited to find that the acoustics were actually quite good for orchestra.

The concert was a lot of fun because the audience was so enthusiastic. For the first time all tour we had the audience laughing during the lighter moments of music, and the applause afterwards were thunderous for such a small crowd. It was great fun, as this late in the tour season it’s a real push to bring energy to the stage. The affirmative response of the crowd and the compliments we received afterwards really made things fun, and put us in good spirits for that night’s late drive to Kingston.

After arriving late at our hotel, we were allowed to sleep in a bit the next day before heading off to downtown Kingston to play in the Grand Theatre. The hall was quite beautiful, built with lots of brick on the inside as well as other slabs of rock that gave the theatre a very natural earthy feel. The sound was equally good, so we were all looking forward to our final performance of Tchaikovsky, Goddard, and Shostakovich.

To say the concert went well would be an understatement. As this was our sixth performance of these works, not including recording the Shostakovich two days prior, at this point we were so familiar with the pieces that they just melded together. It was wonderful to hear the orchestra moving as one big unit; the sense of ensemble that breeds is just amazing. The audience was fantastic; after doing our standard encore pieces the applause kept coming, so to the immense amusement of everyone we did an unplanned encore piece from Shostakovich’s Gadfly Suite, conducted by one of our oboists. The spontaneity of that encore is a good representation for just how far this orchestra has come. Two months ago we’d never even played together, and now you can throw anyone on the podium and the music will come together. It’s absolutely wonderful to feel.

Kilometres traveled: 4,092