It’s three years since the Auckland Youth Orchestra came to Katikati.
This year, 75 young musicians, aged 14-26, make up the orchestra, conducted by Antun Poljanich, and they are bringing the music of Mahler, Dvorak and Haydn to the town.
The concert programme:
- Dvorak — American Suite in A major, Op.98b. Dvorak wrote the suite in the United States shortly before 1900, along with his famous cello concerto and ninth symphony, From the New World. The suite mixes American influences — “a jaunty cakewalk and an indigenous American dance, punctuated by ankle bracelets (a triangle) and tomtoms (timpani) with the energy and melodies of the Slavic tradition”.
- Haydn — Oboe Concerto in C (soloist Alex Wu) This concerto is “a classical wind concerto with tuneful melodies and virtuosic passages”. It will be performed by Alex Wu, Auckland Youth Orchestra’s principal oboe and a prizewinner in both the New Zealand and Australian Double Reed societies’ competitions.
- Mahler — Totenfeier is a series of vignettes describing “a hero’s life passing before his eyes. The work is essentially about the meaning of life, written to sound expansive and exaggerated, yet deeply sincere”.
The Auckland Youth Orchestra has been training