Yesterday I arrived in Perth at three thirty and sat through
two hours of the Perth Youth Orchestra rehearsing for the Spring Concert. Why
did I put myself through this? Well, firstly, because it was actually quite an
enjoyable experience and secondly because I’ve volunteered to be PYO’s
publicist. This means I get to do press releases and reviews of their concerts,
which all in all not only interests me, but it’s perfect for gaining experience
in journalism. I’m doing this review for the blog and the blog only; the other
review will have to be a bit more refined as it’s going in the local papers.
But with the blog I can let my hair down so to speak…
After listening to the orchestra rehears, I knew that the
actual concert would be brilliant. During the rehearsal, Allan Young (who was
conducting later that evening) fine-tuned and adjusted imperfections in the way
the members of PYO performed their pieces. I actually can’t quite put my finger
on what he was fixing because the details were so minute they were almost
impossible to pick out. It just goes to show the degree of perfection PYO are
expected to play at.
When it came to the actual concert, the Perth Symphony
Orchestra opened with the Tchaikovsky ‘Nutcracker’ suite followed by Mahler’s
Adagietto symphony No 5, Night on the Bare Mountain by Mussorgsky and Suite No
1 ‘Peer Gynt’ by Grieg. Although these were all played brilliantly, it was the
second half of the concert that really took the spotlight.
PYO and PSO joined to perform a collection of cinematic
themed pieces. The first of these being ‘Salute to the Cinema’ by various
composers (arr. Strommen). This was made up of songs from Singing in the Rain
and Wizard of Oz among other things I can’t remember. It was brilliantly
performed but completely outshone by the next piece. This is probably because
the next piece was the Harry Potter Symphonic Suite by Williams (arr. Brubaker),
and if that doesn’t make you like orchestral music, there’s something wrong. All
that tweaking earlier on in rehearsals really paid off because I can honestly
say that although the music sounded good in rehearsals, it was ten times better
during the concert. The Harry Potter Symphonic Suite was belted out with such
enthusiasm I really was tempted to sing along like a complete nutter.
Following this was the Selections from Les Miserables by
Schonberg (arr. Lowden). This featured Dreamed a Dream and On my Own, plus a
few other songs I can’t identify seeing as I have never actually watched Les
Miserables. I know – I lead a deprived life, but that will all change after the
film comes out on DVD. PYO and PSO performed this brilliantly and it was
followed by my favourite performance of the night, the Suite from The Lord of
the Rings by Shore (arr. Whitney).
The best part of The Lord of the Rings Suite was definitely
the percussion section. During areas of the music where they were supposed to
be representing orcs (I think) they let rip. Murray said it was the loudest he’d
ever heard them play, so you can imagine what it was like. They even got to use
hammers. Yep. Mental.
And to finish it all off was Themes from 007 by various
composers (arr. Custer). These were chosen specifically because PSO were
celebrating their sixtieth anniversary which coincided with the date the James
Bond movie franchise was born. Allan Young even dedicated the Themes to anyone in
the audience or orchestra whose birthday was that day. This meant the Themes
were dedicated to one member of PSO!
To put into context how good the concert was, the audience
clapped for about ten minutes when it was over! Personally, I think the Spring
Concert has to be one of the best concerts I’ve attended, and the best thing
is, PYO just keep getting better.
PYO and SYO in concert
Panoramic view (light rehearsal)
Chaos of rehearsal
