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by Debbie Manetta, Mamaroneck School District

(April 2, 2009) The Hommocks Middle School 8th grade orchestra was honored with a gold medal on Tuesday, March 31 at the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Majors Festival in Bedford, while the Hommocks chamber orchestra received a gold medal with distinction (the highest score any ensemble can receive). These top honors were decided by a combination of NYSSMA judges scoring the students’ performances against a standardized New York State rubric.

“We’re so proud of the Hommocks orchestra directors, Andrew Sussman and Janine de Nigris, as well as the entire roster of Hommocks orchestra students,” said Hommocks Principal Dr. Seth Weitzman. “I appreciate the beautiful music they produce and the hard work and dedication they demonstrate as they practice. We all know how you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, Practice, Practice. Students don’t work so well, however, without outstanding teachers supporting them and guiding them.”

At the conclusion of both performances, the judges came up on stage and spoke with the students. They were especially complimentary about both groups’ ability to play with expression and dynamics, as well as their superior ensemble work and technique. The judges told the students, “You are fortunate to have such a fine conductor and teacher. It was an honor to hear you play today and we hope to have the pleasure of hearing you play again in the future.”

Wednesday evening, 15 April, sees the first concert by the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in New York. Ninety-five musicians from all around the world, including three Dutch participants, have been rehearsing for three days. Composer Tan Dun, who is conducting the orchestra in the video, has written a piece especially for this occasion. He has a full symphony orchestra at his disposal. Monday was the first day of rehearsals.

YouTube features a six-minute video of Tan Dun’s piece, played from beginning to end without interruptions. It is difficult to believe that the orchestra is playing the piece for the first time, as their performance is reasonably smooth. The musicians have apparently rehearsed their parts quite well at home.

‘Really good’
After the rehearsal, cello player Rossette Kruisinga says: “It went well“. She is packing up her cello. “It is all going smoothly“. In a different video, we saw the 20-year-old cello student sitting up front, close to the conductor Michael Tilson. As the leader of the group of cello players, she plays an important role.

“It feels really good, playing with the group. I can tell they have simply accepted me. It is also good to know they can play anything.”

Harpist Regina Ederveen also plays an important part. As the only harpist in the orchestra, she cannot afford to make mistakes. On top of which, the first notes of Tan Dun’s YouTube symphony have been written for her instrument.

“I feel that the beginners level of this orchestra is incredibly high. Just look at what we’ve done so far”.

As an experienced harpist, she is able to compare the YouTube orchestra to professional ensembles.

“I went to sit up front and listen during some of the parts. I think it sounds very good. So everything will work out fine”.

Set-up
Last autumn, the well-known video web site YouTube announced it wanted to bring together a major symphony orchestra. Musicians - both amateurs and professionals - could apply. Candidates were asked to send in a home-made video. Visitors to the YouTube website could vote for the best the best entries. The result is the YTSO, or YouTube Symphony Orchestra, including 95 musicians from about 30 countries. The Dutch members of the YTSO are all either professionals or students at a school of music.

In addition to famous Chinese Tan Dun conducting his own composition, famous conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads the orchestra in its performance of the other pieces, including compositions from a variety of periods both for major orchestras and for smaller ensembles. According to an enthusiastic Mr Tilson Thomas,

“It could be described as something between a summit conference, scout jamboree or musical get-together. It’ll be the first time that people from so many different countries will have had a chance to discover one another online and then actually meet up and make music together.”

A variety of cultural institutions have become partners of the YouTube Orchestra, including a number of Dutch orchestras, and there has been much publicity. The organisers hope the media attention for the YouTube Orchestra will help bring more people into contact with classical music.

Dream
For the three Dutch participants, this is obviously not necessary, but a performance in Carnegie Hall - New York’s equivalent of Amsterdam’s famous Concertgebouw - is a rare opportunity. On her Hyves [social networking] page, violin student Annemarie van Viegen writes:

“It’s the dream of every musician. And, in any case, it’s fun playing with people from all over the world”.

The orchestra will play in Carnegie Hall on Wednesday night 15 April, and the video will be put up on the YouTube site the followin day. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas says

“It will hopefully be the first of many get-togethers.”

* RNW translation (gsh)