Aotea Youth Symphony

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THE AOTEA YOUTH SYMPHONY
IS BACK!

Yes! The Aotea Youth Symphony really is BACK!

After two years of disruption and then cancellations because of Covid, we are now back into the swing of making music and to prove it, we had a great concert at the wonderful, and very colourful, St Mathews on 29 September. The hiatus of the pandemic has hit our players hard, but in our first public concert in St Matthews since 2019 the music was good and the audience appreciated it.

Maestro Paul Harrop guided the Orchestra through music from New Zealand and all around Europe, and included our friends from Selwyn, The Selwyn Songsters, who gave us a spirited “You Raise Me Up” and a thoughtful “Panis Angelicus”.

Three soloists also performed, Alex Wu played a haunting arrangement for oboe of “My Lagan Love”; Jessie Yin, freshly returned from the Under 18 Fencing Team that went to Birmingham, demonstrated mastery of Beethoven’s Romance in G; whilst Linghao played an impressive Mozart Piano concerto Number 12.
Photos are courtesy of Nancy Zhou.

The LAST NIGHT of the PROMS

The rowdy, colourful, jingoistic classical concert PARTY! For more photos visit the Gallery

music matters to us

Music encourages creativity and builds self-esteem, confidence and emotional well-being. The Aotea Youth Symphony prides itself on providing a friendly and supportive environment where young musicians can learn and grow.

We are a community-based youth orchestra, with the primary aim of providing a further dimension to the musical experiences of young musicians outside the school environment in an interesting, educational and enjoyable setting.

The AYS consists of two orchestras - the Symphony is for musicians in their teens and early twenties, and the Sinfonietta for younger players. Both orchestras provide the discipline and experience of ensemble playing in a fun and social environment.

We expect commitment and dedication from our players, but most of all we’re about having fun with music.
If this sounds like you, why not apply to join us today?

Last year the Garden Party Concert at historic Alberton in Mount Albert, which was threatened with thunderstorms, actually had perfect weather for our audience and players with beautifully dappled sunlight coming through the magnificent trees.
This year I'm sure there'll be some Irish music, after all it's only two days before St Patrick's Day, but there'll also be a bit of catchy American music, some truly classical items, maybe something from a musical and who knows what else. Come along and find out!
When Alberton was in use as a family home, it often had music in the house, although probably not a full-sized orchestra. The atmosphere lends itself to music and also to living in a relaxed manner, so bring a rug or some seats, a picnic, and enjoy a day out of your busy routine, transporting you back to the 1890's.
This is part of our fund-raising for the North American Tour in April, so we will have stalls at which you can buy food and drinks as well as cakes.
Some photos of the Garden Party last year...

John Donaldson wins WAPAC

On Sunday 29th July the West Auckland Performing Arts Competition finals were held and the orchestra accompanied the Piano finalists playing the first movement of the Bach Piano Concerto. This year the winner was John Donaldson who had composed an original cadenza for his performance as well. Congratulations John.

what's coming up

Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Visit

Our long-standing friends from the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony visited Auckland again for a few days from 8th to 12th June. In this short time they managed to fit in a visit to Waiheke and the magnificent Whittaker's Music Museum, a sight-seeing trip around Auckland and a great concert (more later) and social time on Sunday at Te Mahurehure Marae. And after they left us they stayed overnight at a Marae in Rotorua to enjoy the full Maori experience before flying on to Australia.
The concert was a joint concert with the Aotea Youth playing the first part, followed by Colorado Springs. This orchestra is picked from nine other musical ensembles that are run by the CSYS organization. They are very accomplished and gave a polished, energetic and entertaining performance, and then the two orchestras combined for the finale. A great day.
Word from Colorado is that the players are still buzzing about the New Zealand part of their tour and the hospitality we were able to show them, thank you to our hosting families.