Last month I was a member of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. It was quite the experience. Musicians from 33 countries ages 14-49 participated, some even taking leave from their orchestra jobs for the week. The Grand Finale concert was the largest stream ever on YouTube-the previous leader was U2 live on YouTube.
Here you can find links to the concert and other interviews:
I arrived a half a week early to do some sightseeing and I stayed with my mom’s penfriend, Heidi. My mom has 50 penfriends from all over the world, and I’ve been able to meet a few of them on my travels. Heidi lives in Rooty Hill-still part of Sydney, but about an hour from the center. I enjoyed the mornings waking up to a chorus of birds at 7am.
We went to an animal park and I got to pet and feed some wallabies and kangaroos. I was disappointed to hear that holding a koala was not allowed in NSW since they are the cutest animals ever…
We also went hiking in the Blue Mountains. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue haze caused by the oil of the Eucalyptus trees.
Before the week of rehearsals started, I climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We weren't allowed to bring cameras, so I will just have to remember the sun setting over the Blue Mountains in the distance.
The YouTube Symphony Week was so much work! But it was the good kind of work…I had a very short amount of time to learn the Stravinsky Octet, which was the most rewarding part of the week for me. Little did I know I would be sitting in between Bill Williams (former principal trumpet of San Francisco Symphony) and Ian Bousfield (principal trombone of Vienna Phil) with Håkan Hardenberger conducting. This is my new favorite piece (I'm very envious of the bassoon parts...)
We rehearsed in orchestra 3 hours a day (one day was 6 hours) along with ensemble rehearsals (I was in the brass and woodwind concerts). I'm hoping YouTube will post "Set To" by Turnage and the Octet. YouTube posted the encore we played with the least amount of rehearsal, but it was fun (Sarah Willis of the Berlin Phil, Bill Williams, Ian Bousfield, and Håkan Hardenberger joined us onstage).
The finale concert was amazing-I was impressed with the balance of technology with a high level of music making. The light show on the inside was impressive, but I wish I had been outside as well. An artist projected live art onto the Sydney Opera House as we performed.
Also be sure to check out my favorite piece of the night, Ascending Bird. It featured the string section and a sand artist (it's is amazing what can be done with sand! You have to watch this!) We also performed a piece by Mason Bates which featured soloists (a Richmond connection here-I've played a few of Mason's pieces with the Richmond Symphony, as he is a native to rva).
I was very inspired working with a group of passionate musicians from very different backgrounds. We had tons of music to put together in a very short amount of time and we adapted well. A lot more can be said about the experience, but I recommend just watching the concert. It will be interesting to see what the next YTSO will do, but I am hoping they take the same group on tour! Here are a few more photos from the week:
View from outside during our finale concert
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