DUBBO violin student India de Sousa Shaw will represent Dubbo at the Sydney Opera House as part of a group performing alongside professional musicians from the Australian World Orchestra and elite players from the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 11-year-old is one of 20 young violin students from regional towns across NSW who will perform on Thursday and will represent the Macquarie Conservatorium.
India and the other regional students will be conducted by one of the most famous and highly regarded musicians in the world, Sir Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, who is in Sydney for concerts with the Australian World Orchestra, a unique ensemble made up of exceptional Australian musicians drawn from top orchestras around the world.
The regional music students taking part in this two-day project of rehearsals, tutorials and concerts at the Sydney Opera House range in age from 6 to 17, and in skill level from beginner to advanced.
For some of the students, this experience with the Australian World Orchestra will be the first time they have played with a full string orchestra.
"In smaller regional centres, there are not always enough musicians in town to form youth or community orchestras for our young violinists to play with," Dubbo's Macquarie Conservatorium director Vivienne Winther said.
"So the thrill of playing right in the middle of a large orchestra will be quite new for some of them, on top of being tutored by brilliant professional players and led by an amazing conductor."
The students have learnt specially arranged parts of the Bach Double Violin Concerto, participating in video-conference link-ups to work on their music together with Macquarie Conservatorium staff member Kelly Bird, herself a violinist and professional orchestral player.
"While in Sydney, the students will watch the Australian World Orchestra in rehearsal and in concert, have intensive tutorials on their parts, and join with the other players to rehearse as an orchestra, before performing their music on Thursday evening before a VIP audience," Ms Winther said.
"At previous orchestral projects, several students gained real insight into the life of a professional musician and decided to pursue music as a career as a result. I'm sure this experience with Sir Simon Rattle and the Australian World Orchestra will bring similar inspiration to our young musicians."
