SYOP Canberra Tour

For many young musicians, we involve ourselves in programs such as Sydney Youth Orchestras for the opportunity to have experiences in which we can dive deeper into our music education, developing our understanding and experience as performers. Last week, SYO Philharmonic travelled to Canberra to not only perform at Llewellyn Hall at ANU but to also record our European Winter program of Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, Rinsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture and Ravel’s infamous Bolero. Performing for Dixon Advisory, an SYO sponsor, the opportunity to perform for such a large and welcoming audience was something in its own.

However, our opportunity to record and learn about the ANU School of music was the real highlight of the excursion. Doing recordings is a significant aspect of the modern musician’s life, and as amateur musicians, it surely is not every day that you get to be record in a high-calibre professional environment. Undoubtedly, we always listen to music through recordings and no longer rely on live performance for our listening pleasures, so being able to gain recording experience is invaluable.

Furthermore, as Sydney based musicians, we often maintain a tunnel vision of tertiary education options as musicians, so the opportunity to hear from the head of the school, Kenneth Lampl, was not only an opportunity to see what ANU has to offer for us, it was also inspiring hearing his story as a musician, going from a kid playing the saxophone in the Bronx, to a Juilliard Professor to an internationally renowned composer. Hearing him speak not only inspired us but opened our eyes to the versatility and the limitless nature of a career in music.

While the trip was a tiring one- taking up our entire Sunday, it is safe to say that not only was it inspiring, it was an eye-opening experience that gave us the advice that many of us have been looking for regarding our prospective careers in music.

Mia Retallack - Tutti First Violin in SYO Philharmonic. Mia grew up in Mandurama, in Central West New South Wales

SYOP Canberra Tour

Young People at SYO

Brian Buggy OAM- Conductor Emeritus

SYO Philharmonic