2010 - an exciting year ahead

Welcome to 2010 Dear Orchestra members, friends and family, Welcome to a new and exciting year for the SBS Youth Orchestra.  In 2010 there are a number of interesting concerts and projects planned that we hope you will all enjoy.  In particular, the orchestra is going on tour - Vienna and Poland.  I hope that many of you will be able to come on this tour and be part of this unique and wonderful experience. In this age of recorded music and technology there is still the need for live music.  Performing live means that the audience is exposed to the vitality and spontaneity of the performers – it is how music should be heard.  We need orchestras more than ever to perform programmes that expose the audience to a wide range of repertoire and expand their music education.  The reason for this is that music is part of our culture, no matter what country we are from. I am looking forward to my new role as Music Director of the SBS Youth Orchestra.  It is an honour and a privilege to be a part of this organization that was the brainchild and legacy of Maestro Matthew Krel.  I have been fortunate to have worked with orchestras in Australia, New Zealand and the USA and I have thoroughly relished the joy, challenge and responsibility that comes with working with talented young musicians.  The SBS Youth Orchestra is an important part of not only the Sydney community but also integral to contributing greatly to Australia’s musical culture.  It is through concerts and through radio and television broadcasts that SBSYO can actively bring communities together and therefore cement its reputation as one of Australia’s leading youth orchestras.  At the start of the year our first concert is ‘Diversity’ which will include the world premiere of Allan Zavod’s Urban Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra with Australia’s most celebrated guitarist Slava Grigoryan.  Other works in the program will include Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn by Brahms, Small Town by Sculthorpe as well as repertoire by Khatchurian and Wagner.   Our second concert is a Memorial Tribute to Maestro Matthew Krel.  The repertoire in this concert will showcase the orchestra that Matthew created and bring together soloists, conductors and composers that have worked with the SBSYO over the years.  If you have any friends or family who were former members of the SBS Youth Orchestra please spread the word and encourage them to participate as there will be an Alumni orchestra performance to close the concert. Again I look forward to working with you all this coming year - making great music and producing exciting concerts. Joanna Drimatis Musical Director

2010 INTERNATIONAL TOUR
The orchestra has confirmed that it will tour Europe in September/October 2010. The tour will last approximately 13 days. It is planned to visit Poland, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin. There are also plans to visit and perform in Austria and the Czech Republic. Performances are currently being finalised in each of these countries.   Eligibility for Membership of the touring group requires that the payment schedule is met. Details will be provided in the next orchestra newsletter. If you have any questions about participating in this tour you can contact the honorary secretary, Mr Hamilton.

MEMBERS: Membership fees are now due.

Sunday 28 March Riverside Theatre ‘Diversity’- A Special Concert with Slava Grigoryan The SBS Youth Orchestra opens its 2010 season with a concert that celebrates the diversity of cultures through a wide-ranging repertoire that includes Wagner’s Liebestod, Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, selections from the ballet Spartacus by Khatchaturian and Peter Sculthorpe’s Small Town. The highlight of this concert is a premiere performance of Allan Zavod’s Urban Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra performed by enigmatic guitarist Slava Grigoryan.  Zavod, who is one of Australia’s most successful musical exports, has written this concerto as a ‘metaphor of life in a western city- its spirit, cultures and vibrations.’