|
Reviews:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAMPIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Review for P&J from Roddy Phillips
April
20 2008
Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen
It's almost a year since The Grampian Youth Orchestra stunned
the capacity audience at the Mitchell Hall during its inaugural
concert as an independent ensemble.
The
GYO had evolved from the AIYF Host Orchestra, which performed
at the Opening Concerts of the Festival in 2004 and 2005. Suddenly
here was a young, highly talented local orchestra that could stand
its own ground against any international competition.
Last
night the superb GYO led by Jenna Main proved once again that
the wealth of local musical talent in the area is nothing short
of remarkable. In an outstanding concert in the Sanctuary of Queen's
Cross Church supported by The Agency, MacKenzie PR and McGrigors
the GYO instantly showed us they meant business with a blistering
performance of Suppe's Poet and Peasant Overture.
Directed
by the renowned conductor Julian Clayton the GYO went on to produce
bold, incisive and uplifting performances of extremely challenging
works by Vaughan Williams, Gordon Jacob and Massenet.
Every
section of this 60 piece orchestra won our admiration. The woodwind
and brass sections were crisp and confident, while the percussion
and strings played with a maturity that was inspiring.
Am
immense amount of hard work obviously went into this concert and
of course to some degree the rehearsals are just as important
for a young orchestra as the performance itself. With a charismatic
conductor like Clayton however, the GYO came to us fully formed
and bristling with energy and excitement.
We
can look forward to the GYO performing at this year's Youth Festival
when once again they will be representing not only the Grampian
area but also Scotland.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAMPIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Review for P&J from Roddy Phillips
August
09 2007
Beach
Ballroom
One
of the great strengths of the Youth Festival is its ability to
bring younger audiences to concerts, whether they are members
of a visiting group or accompanying their parents.
For many children the Festival can be their first introduction
to classical music and yesterday's outstanding GYO Family Concert
in the Beach Ballroom sponsored by the Balmoral Group and The
Agency turned out to be just that.
Performing to a capacity audience the Grampian Youth Orchestra
became one large musical tuition instrument as American Guest
Conductor Randal Swiggum dissected works by Dvorak, Lutoslawski,
Rodrigo and Copland and then put them back together again in a
highly illuminating light.
It must have worked because the children in the audience sat rapt
while the GYO worked with impressive confidence playing solos
and section parts in the manner of Britten's Young Person's Guide
to the Orchestra.
16 year old Fraserburgh guitarist Ian Watt was the soloist in
the first movement of the Rodrigo Concerto. Flawless, passionate
and driven Watt was an inspiration for all the budding young musicians
at the concert.
An excellent platform for the superb GYO this was a family concert
that cleverly entertained and educated children and adults alike
Hopefully we won't have to wait a whole year before we hear from
the talented GYO again.
Tonight's big event that should not be missed is the concert in
the Music Hall by the highly regarded National Youth Orchestra
of Spain conducted by Jose Serebrier and featuring the world famous
soprano Carole Farley.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
& GRAMPIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
by Alan Cooper
06
May 2007
Mitchell Hall, Marischal College
The Grampian Youth Orchestra is proving itself to be one of the
most significant byproducts of the Aberdeen International Youth
Festival. Their contribution to Sunday’s concert by the University
of Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra was quite remarkable. Under their
conductor Julian Clayton, they gave a perfectly focused and incisive
performance of Kenneth Leighton’s Dance Suite No.2. Confident,
lively playing of a fully professional standard made this work
the highlight of the entire concert. The Suite was graced with
numerous examples of superb solo playing from all sections of
the orchestra throughout its four delightful and highly contrasting
movements. How splendid it was to be able to relax and enjoy the
music, confident after just the first few bars that everything
was going to go without a hitch.
The
climax of the concert was in the second half, which brought the
two orchestras together for Eddie McGuire’s Scottish Dances
on Original Themes. This was a splendidly atmospheric work. I
remember attending the
Lonach Gathering some years ago and as I approached the arena
I could hear, in the distance, several groups of bagpipe players
preparing for the competitions. It was a romantic and not unmusical
sound. The opening of McGuire’s piece reminded me pleasantly
of that experience. It is quite an accomplishment for a contemporary
composer to provide us so successfully with all his own tunes.
Dvorak was one of the most accomplished in that area and I remember
being disappointed as a young student to discover that many of
the themes even in the symphonies of the great Tchaikovsky for
instance, were not “all his own work”, so well done
Eddie McGuire! The combined orchestras played superbly and captured
the magical atmosphere of McGuire’s music. Once again, there
was a wealth of solo contributions to admire. To pick out only
two, the rich smooth tuba playing of Timothy Carey or the muted
trumpet of Dean Bromage both made me sit up and take notice.
It
was particularly pleasing that the Mitchell Hall was packed for this concert.
The superb performance, particularly of the younger orchestra, promises great
things for the future even if only some of them come to study music or play in
the various ensembles at Aberdeen University.
| 
