“Food, massages, therapy,” NYO Canada concludes the 2024 New Horizons tour at MRU
Arroy (AJ) Jacob, Web Editor
Arroy (AJ) Jacob, Web Editor |
On Wednesday, July 31st, at the Bella Concert Hall in Mount Royal University’s Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts, the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) Canada hosted the finale of their 2024 Horizons Tour, a triumphant homecoming to Western Canada that celebrated Canada’s young musical talent and showcased a captivating repertoire.
The tour began on July 18th in Kingston, Ontario, with young musicians from across the nation touring and performing under the baton of Conductor Naomi Woo, the new music director of NYO Canada. The tour culminated in a final performance in Calgary, Alberta.
Violist Rachel Miner and percussionist Chelsea Jaramillo, two youth musicians who joined the NYO Canada program, completed their journey in the Bella Concert Hall.
What it’s like working with NYO Canada
The 2024 Horizons Tour focuses on highlighting Canadian youth. According to Miner, “We truly have 16-year-olds to 28-year-olds and everything in between. There are people who are graduating and others with jobs. It’s so interesting.”
Jaramillo adds, “But we all respect each other. Everyone’s a good player. Everyone is just very well respected and respectful. We have to find common ground. We have to find things that connect us, and we are basically living together for several weeks!”
Despite the varying age differences between musicians, there’s a sense of belonging, respect, and kindness fostered among all maturity levels. These values are the building blocks for the community, and it takes a village to create something beautiful, as is the case with the excerpts that they performed across the nation and in the Bella Concert Hall.
“To be in an orchestra is to be in a team.”
Miner continues describing their experience with NYO by praising the staff: “The staff here are so incredible. They model that behaviour for everyone. They are extremely kind, extremely respectful, and considerate of everyone’s needs and what they want from the program.”
“They’re really here for us.”
A considerate and compassionate staff is especially important for students of all age ranges, but particularly those who are younger and more impressionable, as they learn how to harness their talent. NYO Canada understands this, as it has shown with all of its successful performances.
Jaramillo seconds Miner’s statement: “They’re here for us and nothing else. They’re here for the development of young musicians. Even the establishment itself gave us the tools to be the best we could be for performance. Whether it’s food, massages, or therapy, I think this is something that models professional life for these kids. To be on tour and be so well taken care of, it’s amazing.”
Their advice for new youth musicians
NYO Canada offers an intensive, groundbreaking, and mesmerizing program for all young Canadian musicians. But how can one get involved in such a program? Jaramillo and Miner were happy to offer some advice.
Jaramillo says, “A tip that I would give a younger musician is to prepare for your audition well, and prepare for it far enough in advance so that when you take the recordings and listen back to them, essentially right up until the most recent one, you do not do as well as the previous. Essentially, don’t take the last one and say that was the max of your abilities because then you’re never gonna know what else you can do.”
“Once you start feeling the takes are not as good as the one you did last week, then you can take notes and do even better in your next recording.”
Most auditions to join an orchestra require a recording submission. This auditioning method gives the musician the opportunity to submit the best version of themselves during that period of time. “To send in your tape knowing that you did your best, knowing that you’ve come as far as you did in your preparation, I think that’s important.”
Miner concluded the interview by imparting her own pieces of wisdom: “When talking about NYO specifically, I would definitely suggest you attend their online workshops for each instrument.”
“So in my case, I’m a violist, so Neil Gripp did our online workshop and went into depth about every single excerpt on the list and talked about what he’s looking for in your audition, as he was the one who would be listening to that audition.”
“I suggest recording early and playing for a lot of different people. And not just people playing your own instrument, but playing for people of all different instruments because everyone notices different things. The people who have been most successful are the people who have gotten advice from brass players, percussionists, and everywhere.”
Visit the National Youth Orchestra of Canada’s official website to learn more about the audition process.
Arroy (AJ) Jacob is the current Web Editor for The Reflector. He is in his final year of his degree in Cellular & Molecular Biology and Creative Writing.
