TopprizeforYouthOrchestra
WEXFORD Youth Orchestra travelled to the National Concert Hall in Dublin recently for the 22nd Festival of Youth Orchestras and came away with a top award.
This annual event brings together some of the top youth orchestras in the country.
On the night, eight such groups came together and, over two concerts, delivered the end-product of months of preparation.
Wexford, along with orchestras from the Midlands, Athenry, Limerick and Kerry, performed in the second of the two concerts.
The thrill of performing in such an august venue before such a knowledgable audience is one which every single musician performing at the festival appreciates. The group dynamic also comes into play with musicians more inclined to think collectively than, solely, as individual units.
This is an opportunity to shine on the big stage, to showcase the collective talent that makes up your orchestra.
When the MC for the evening, Seán Rocks of RTÉ Radio 1’s arts programme Arena, announced the recipient of the 2017 IAYO Outstanding Achievement Award, a stunned silence descended on the Wexford contingent as they realised that the orchestra in question was their own.
A delighted Emily Redmond, CWYO’s Conductor, accepted the award on behalf of the orchestra.
CWYO spokesperson and cellist, Beth Powell, said that playing in the National Concert Hall was a huge honour for everyone in the orchestra.
‘When I recall all the practise and rehearsal time we put in I have no doubt that I speak on behalf of everyone in CWYO in saying that it was all worth it for such a brilliant and unforgettable day. We are so grateful to everyone that helped in getting us here, all our leaders and chaperones and especially our Conductor, Emily Redmond,’ said Beth.
Beth spoke of how the focus in the weeks leading up to the concert was on learning to perform the pieces, not simply playing the notes.
‘Many of us brought our music to our individual teachers to get the markings in so that that they might point out small things we could do to improve our technique. We also listened to recordings of the pieces to help get timings and rhythms into our heads.
‘Personally, I spent a whole two-hour plane journey listening to our three pieces on repeat! Our last week consisted of two three-hour rehearsals to fix any remaining mistakes and to put the final finishing touches on our pieces. At this point we were performing our pieces to the best of our ability. And yet each time the pieces sounded better than the time before.’
Beth describes the final minutes before the orchestra took to the stage:
‘At the interval, we rushed back to our dressing room and began to tune our instruments. This caused a bit of panic as, due to the heat of the room, most of the string instruments’ tuning had slipped. One of the cellos was completely out of tune and as Emily was tuning it, a string snapped. Notwithstanding a rapid string change the instrument remained stubbornly out of tune.
‘Luckily, we were able to secure a replacement cello from the orchestra that performed before us, thanks to the efficiency of the IAYO staff. As we were waiting to go on, I looked at all the photos of the musicians and orchestras that had played on this same stage. It was, and still is, surreal to think that we had been given the opportunity to play where so many renowned musicians, groups and orchestras had played before us.
‘Soon after, we received the call to stage. We walked on and took our seats with our Conductor joining us shortly after to take her place before us. We proceeded to do our final tuning of instruments. The sound of an orchestra tuning up all together is one of my favourite sounds and as we were tuning I knew we were going to be amazing.’ And then: ‘Emily raised her baton. There was complete silence throughout the hall for a few seconds as we sat poised. Romeo and Juliet Overture by Tchaikovsky. We began to play, all of us concentrating on our music, on Emily, on each other. This was the payback for months of endless rehearsals and practice.
‘We poured everything we had into the music and it showed. As we came to the end of our first piece I had goosebumps. Any nervousness I had disappeared.
‘We started into our second piece, Forrest Gump Suite. More relaxed now and more in the zone, all the revisions and the corrections we had gone through in rehearsal came through effortlessly in our playing. It sounded amazing.
‘Next came our final and most difficult piece, Neil Martin’s Queen of the Scals. We were joined by two soloists: Mark Redmond on uileann pipes and Eilís Lavelle on harp. Everyone was concentrating, fully and completely immersed in the music and what was being played. We performed the best we ever had and there was nothing but complete joy, and maybe a little bit of relief, on everyone’s faces as we stood to the crowd’s roaring applause.
‘I felt, throughout our performance, that we were an orchestra united. We listened to one another and performed, not just each piece, but every note to the best of our abilities. It was a performance none of us will ever forget.’
CWYO was founded in 1980 by Eileen Hurlihy and the late Alan Cutts as part of the County Wexford School of Music. It is made up of musicians aged 12 to 18 years from thoughout Co Wexford. They practise together weekly throughout the school year.
Through regular practise and performance, the orchestra serves as an important stepping-stone in preparing young musicians hoping to progress to senior orchestra playing. The Conductor is Emily Redmond.
The current Co-Leaders are Aisling Gouldson and Emma Martin. For further details see www. wexfordschoolofmusic.ie.