Hitting the Right Note
Hudson Park High School pupils Jonathan Rouw, left, and Tristan Henderson were recently selected to be part of the South African National Youth Orchestra. For matric candidate Henderson, this is the second year he has been chosen, while Rouw, 16, was the only euphonium (small tuba) player to be chosen for the Youth Orchestra.
Two East London high school pupils, Tristan Henderson and Jonathan Roux, were recently selected to be part of the South African National Youth Orchestra.
This is the second consecutive year that trumpet player and matric student Henderson has been chosen, with16-year-old Roux being the only euphonium (small tuba) player in South Africa to be chosen for the 2018 National Youth Orchestra. Both boys are from Hudson Park High School.
“It’s very rare for high school musicians to make it into the orchestra, and for us to have two students chosen this year is fantastic,” said Hudson Park High School head of music, Wesley Wong, who was also part of the National Youth Orchestra when he was younger.
“When I got too old to play, I made it my goal to train and help a student to get into the orchestra; I never thought that would happen so soon, never mind getting two students in.”
Competing against hundreds of musicians from around the country aged between 16 and 25, Henderson and Roux are the only two East London high school students to have made the cut, according to Wong.
The pair will join 40 of the best young musicians at the orchestra’s week-long training camp and performance in Cape Town in December.
“Last year the camp was the highlight of my year; I grew a lot and met many fellow musicians. It is difficult and the expectations are much higher because we have to make a complicated piece of music come together in just a week, but it’s a great opportunity to learn from people who are more experienced,” said 18-year-old Tristan, who hopes to complete his Associate Diploma in Music after matric.
Roux, who has been studying music since he was nine years old and started playing the euphonium in 2015, said he was not expecting to be chosen.
“It’s only really starting to sink in now. I’m nervous but really excited to play with more professional musicians,” said the Grade 10 pupil, who is currently completing his Grade 7 in music.
While Henderson’s position in the orchestra, among six trumpeters, will be determined at the training camp, Roux, being the only euphonium player chosen, is the number one player in his chosen instrument.
Praising Henderson and Roux’s primary school teacher, Michael Forbes, Wong said that both musicians had a great technique and basis when he started teaching them.
“For Tristan, making it a second time is just as good as getting in the first time, and I hope he keeps auditioning and making it into the orchestra after matric. For Jonathan, being the only euphonium player chosen at such a young age, above and beyond university musicians is an amazing achievement,” said Wong.