Auckland Youth Orchestra bring exciting symphony to Katikati

The Auckland Youth Orchestra present a symphony concert in Katikati on March 21. Photos/Dave Simpson

Seventy-five talented young musicians aged from 16 to 26 will be performing together with energy, precision and passion on Sunday, when the Auckland Youth Orchestra (AYO) present an exciting symphony concert in Katikati.

AYO is a full symphony orchestra that toured to Germany and Slovenia in 2018, receiving standing ovations from capacity audiences at their six performances and are now touring NZ.

Their 2021 programme with music director/conductor Antun Poljanich, features famous works written by American, English, French and Russian composers.

Less than three minutes long and written for brass and percussion, the Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland was written in response to America's entry into World War II.

It will be familiar to audiences, as the fanfare has inspired many compositions, from space shuttle missions to Superman movies.

It's 100 years since The Lark Ascending, by Vaughan Williams, was first performed and it's a perennial favourite.

Written for solo violin and orchestra, the work derives its emotion and inspiration from an old, eponymous British poem. Its soaring melodies delight audiences and violinists alike.

Violin soloist Jim Wu. Photos/Dave Simpson

Ten years before Vaughan Williams wrote The Lark Ascending, his mentor, Ravel, orchestrated his own masterpiece, Pavane for a Dead Princess.

Just seven minutes long, it gently evokes the slow, processional dance a princess might have danced in earlier times in the Spanish court.

Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Ravel, is one of the most brilliant showpieces in the orchestral repertoire, displaying the different sections of the orchestra (brass, strings, woodwind and percussion) in the most inventive manner. It is also full of wonderful solos for the principal players.

Violin soloist, Jim Wu performed with AYO in 2014 and 2019, playing Bruch's Violin Concerto and the Butterfly Lovers concerto by Chinese composers He & Chen.

Jim Wu has also performed with Bach Musica NZ, playing Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe with Camille Wells. He is a holder of a LTCL from Trinity College London and is currently working as an acoustic engineer for Agile Engineering Consultants.

DETAILS:
WHAT: Auckland Youth Orchestra
WHEN: 2pm, Sunday, March 21
WHERE: Katikati War Memorial Hall
TICKETS: Adults $25, seniors $20, students/children $10 via Eventfinda (booking fees apply) and at the door.