National Youth Orchestra of Ireland

Cellist to cellist

2012-01-05T04:18:00.000-08:00

It was always going to be inspirational, particularly for the cellos, to see someone who had started in their place performing as soloist with NYOI. All was going smoothly last week until our lovely soloist, Brian O'Kane, was hit down with an unfortunate 24 hour bug. You just can't plan for these things and it looked like our day of Kol nidrei rehearsals were out the window until we remembered that NYOI cellist Sinead had mentioned that she was working on Kol nidrei for a performance with the Cork School of Music Symphony Orchestra later in 2012. So Sinead filled in as soloist for an afternoon of rehearsals and blew everyone - including Gearóid Grant away.

Thankfully, a day later, Brian was back to full health and with us for rehearsals and then for a wonderful concert. However it just reminded me that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Sinead had an incredible opportunity to work on her own performance and then to learn from an outstanding young professional.

We caught up with Sinead and Brian in conversation after rehearsals. What was caught on camera was only the tip of the iceberg as I know that the chat went on throughout dinner as Sinead quizzed Brian for advice and tips.

NYOI Brian O'Kane interview from Zoe Coakley on Vimeo.

A blog from two of the newest members of NYOI

2011-12-30T15:53:00.000-08:00

Every year the NYOI audition panel travel across Ireland to hear hundreds of young musicians hoping for a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. Even if you have been in the orchestra before, you must re-audition. This keeps standards high and gives new musicians a chance to gain a place every year.

It's always really exciting to welcome new members to the NYOI family which has been expanding for over 40 years. This year we have been delighted to welcome 44 new members and today we hear from two violinists - Luke and Andrew - who have been talking about their experience of NYOI so far.

NYOI new musicians 2012 from Zoe Coakley on Vimeo.

A blog from the celli, by Ellen & Sinead

2011-12-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

On the third day, we rose again; the five sleepy-heads of room 19. After nice hot showers and a rush to breakfast, rehearsals began yet again. But this time it was different. Finally all the strings had come together for the first time, after two days of sectionals. It was lovely to hear the full blend of string sound and hear how the melodies complimented the accompaniments. Only one more rehearsal until we would all come together as a family once again!

The excitement at lunch was immense (not only because it was pasta) but also because Gearóid Grant was in the building! At 13.45 we were all in our seats ready for tuning. Gearóid entered the hall to rapturous applause! And it was straight to work..

We began with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. We played through the whole piece (flawlessly, of course) and everyone was taken aback by how well it went, having never played together before. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm on everyone’s face, old and new, especially this year as we are delighted to welcome 44 new members!

When rehearsal ended, it was announced by Conor Palliser (one of our friendly staff members) that we shall be performing a J musical as tomorrow’s evening activity. Each section has their own scene, which they must make up themselves based on a few guidelines given to us by the staff. Let’s just say it promises to be an interesting show, with each section holding private meetings and rehearsals throughout the day to discuss costumes, props, lyrics etc.

After a very successful evening rehearsal, it was finally time for some relaxation (and some more musical rehearsals!). We reflected on the days accomplishments and went to bed feeling inspired and extremely excited about what tomorrow will bring!

Back to room 19, goodnight!

Ellen & Sinead

A day in the life of the clarinets

2011-12-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

As requested by our facebook fans here is a clip of what our clarinet section got up to today:

A day in the life of the NYOI clarinets from Zoe Coakley on Vimeo.

Introducing NYOI 2012

2011-12-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

Today, 92 young musicians arrived in Kilkenny from all corners of Ireland to start 6 days of intense rehearsals in preparation for their concert next Monday 2nd January at 3pm in the Helix. For more info on the concert or to book tickets click here.

In the meantime we'll give you a peek behind the scenes of the NYOI course throughout our week of rehearsals.

We'll start by introducing you to the orchestra...

A few stats on NYOI 2012
There are 92 musicians in the orchestra
The youngest is 12, the oldest is 18
20 counties are represented: Antrim, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Waterford, Westmeath, Wicklow, Cork
There are 8 sets of brothers & sisters in the orchestra
Each year everyone must re-audition for NYOI, this year's orchestra sees the return of 48 musicians from last year and welcomes 44 new members
There are 56 girls and 36 boys

Meet the orchestra

1st violins - tutored by Brona Fitzgerald
David, Colma, William, Anna Livia, Molly, Luke, Phoebe, Claire, David, Emma, Emer, Saffron, Abbie, Rebecca, Richard & Breanainn

2nd violins - tutored by Ken Rice
Devin, Conor, Abbie, Aisling, Andrew, Mark, Abbie, Elizabeth, Chan, Hannah, Jessica, Maggie, Johanna, Molly, Jessica, Sarah

violas - tutored by Lisa Grosman
Martin, Aoife, Martha, Ciara, Harriet, Theo, Philip, Meabh, Ciara, Iseult

cellos - tutored by Bill Butt
Sinead, Rory, Patrick, Genevieve, Ellen, Jessie, Cormac, Caitriona, Jacqui, Lucy, Siobhan, Meabhdh

double basses - tutored by Aura Stone
Aisling, Niall, Sophie, Daire, Amy

flutes - tutored by Catriona Ryan
Amy, Mary-Ellen, Michéal, Cian

oboes - tutored by Ronan O'Reilly
Lukas, Hugh, Deirdre

clarinets - tutored by Paul Roe
Seamus, Cian, Fionnuala, Ciara

bassoons - tutored by Ates Kirkan
Ronan, Aisling, John

horns - tutored by Lesley Bishop
Peter, Eimear, Caoime, Louise, Donal

trumpets - tutored by David Collins
Patrick, Paul, Christian, Senan

trombones & tuba - tutored by Paul Frost
Clara, Conall, Adam, Conall

percussion - tutored by Richard O'Donnell
Clare, Conall, Seán, Siobhan

harps - tutored by Andreja Malir
Meabh and Clara

After travelling the country and meeting hundreds of young musicians at auditions and after hundreds of emails and phonecalls, it's so exciting to see NYOI together for the first time this year.

Tomorrow we're going to follow a section of the orchestra for a day to show you what a day in the life of an NYOI musician looks like. Leave us a comment here or on our facebook page and let us know which section of the orchestra's shoes you'd like to walk in for a day?!

Over and out for day 1!
Zoe

A Musical Exhibition Part One

2011-11-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

If you have been following the NYOI 2012 season plans you will know that we have a very special performance of Mussorsgky's Pictures at an Exhibition in January 2012, if not click here for more info.

The first part of this project was for the NYOI team and and the National Gallery Education Team to design a workshop that would inspire primary school children to create their own piece of art inspired by Pictures at an Exhibition (the music!) and the collection at the National Gallery of Ireland (the art!). In October, children from Cherry Orchard National School were invited to the National Gallery and with clip boards and crayons at the ready they were guided around the gallery and listened to the music. Eimear Saunders, music teacher at Cherry Orchard Performing Arts Club, writes below about the experience.

"Here in Cherry Orchard, the preparations for our role in the NYOI concert started in September. In COPAC (Cherry Orchard Performing Arts Club), the theme for this term is Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at An Exhibition’. We hit the ground running, and from our first session we made it our mission to get to know the piece from as many different angles as possible. In our orchestra class we have been learning ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’, in our singing group we’ve been learning ‘The Old Castle’ and in our art class we practised drawing portraits in preparation for what would be the big event of the term. We also listened to some of the other movements and talked about what we thought the music could be about.

All of our exploration and hard work proved worthwhile when we had the privilege of visiting the National Gallery. We were welcomed by Libby, Brina and Aoibheann and armed with pencils, crayons and paper, we got to work. First of all we listened to some movements from the piece, this time letting our pencils move with the music, coming up with some very interesting designs in the process! Then we got to see some of the Gallery’s fabulous paintings starting with the drama of Denby’s ‘The Opening of the Sixth Seal. We looked at paintings that matched the themes from ‘Pictures’ and sketched aspects of each one.

After we visited the gallery, it was the gallery’s turn to visit us, and art tutor Libby came to see us in COPAC. There we put together our designs from listening to the music along with the different aspects we had sketched from the paintings in the gallery, to create our very own ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’."

‘Going to the National Gallery was a dream come true for me’
Caitlin

Isn't this just fab?! I love Caitlin's quote at the end and having visited the Gallery with the school group I know that they were all totally captivated by the music and the fantastic stories behind the artwork. Well done to Libby (the art tutor) and Eimear (author of the above and music tutor) for all their hard work and for making it so enjoyable for the kids!

The finshed art work has now arrived in the NYOI office and I am so excited about having a look through it and working on the big unveiling of this work alongside NYOI's performance on Monday 2nd January 2012!

Until the next time...
Zoe

Details of the 2011/2012 season announced and find out how you can get involved

2011-09-02T05:44:00.000-07:00

The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland’s upcoming season offers unrivalled opportunities to learn and perform great symphonic music with new friends. Along the way you will be mentored by some of the finest professional orchestral musicians in Ireland and work under the baton of professional conductors.

Talking about conductors, yesterday, listeners to RTÉ lyric fm's Lunchtime Classics were given a preview of what is to come for the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland in their 2011/2012 season. Liz Nolan interviewed Zoe Keers, General Manager of NYOI, and Lukas O'Brien, oboist with NYOI and announced the very exciting news that Principal Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Alan Buribayev, is to conduct NYOI next summer! Buribayev's wonderful insight into Russian repertoire will make the learning and performance of Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 an incredible experience for Ireland's finest young musicians.

NYOI is proud of the thousands of young musicians who have graduated through our orchestras over the last 41 years and this year we are delighted to welcome back three NYOI Alumni of outstanding promise: Brian O’Kane (cello), Fiona Kelly (flute) and Jean Kelly (harp).

Sisters Fiona and Jean Kelly look forward to returning to NYOI next summer, this time as soloists in Mozart's Concerto for flute and harp. Fiona Kelly, who has been hailed by the New York Times as a player with “impressive technique and elegant musicianship”, recently completed her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School, New York, studying with Robert Langevin. Fiona won first prize in The Juilliard School Flute Competition and performed Bernstein’s ‘Halil’ with The Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky at The Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, Lincoln Center. Jean Kelly leads a busy life as a professional harpist. Jean regularly tours with the Locrian Ensemble performing harp concertos and her own arrangements of Irish music and has recorded three CD's with the group. In 2011 Jean was invited to Dublin to play for the historic visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II. She has also played at Buckingham Palace for HRH Prince Charles' birthday and has played harp on several film scores including 'The Lord of the Rings'.

The first NYOI meeting of the season will take place, as usual, during the Christmas holidays. A new group of young musicians will once again start the season under the baton of NYOI's wonderful conductor Gearóid Grant to prepare for a performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Bruch's Kol nidrei with cellist Brian O'Kane. A busy soloist and chamber musician, Brian came to prominence by taking first prize at the Windsor Festival International String Competition and is also a former prizewinner of the Haverhill Sinfonia and Royal Overseas League Competitions. In early 2008, Brian won the Prince’s Prize of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and is a former winner of the Accenture Bursary Award and Camerata Ireland Young Musician Award. In that same year, Brian performed with Camerata Ireland in Dublin’s National Concert Hall under Barry Douglas and with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Highgrove before the Prince of Wales. He recently appeared again with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy at the 2009 Windsor Festival.

NYOI's 2011/2012 Season promises to be the pinnacle of orchestral experience for young musicians ages 12-18 in Ireland. From exciting repertoire to inspirational conductors and soloists who started where you are - what are you waiting for?! Applications for audition open on Monday 5th September and close on Monday 17th October. Application forms will be available from our website on Monday 5th September.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Guide to the Orchestra by Cian Ducrot

2011-07-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

As the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland filed onto stage on Friday and Saturday night they just kept on coming... 94 players, 14 sections and over 25 different instruments...

Here is Cian Ducrot's guide to the orchestra (MTV cribs style!)

Guide to the orchestra "MTV cribs" style from NYOI on Vimeo.

How many clothes can a musician wear?

2011-06-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Read our website and you will be amazed and possibly shocked to discover that 93 teenagers can rehearse intensely for 8 hours a day on a week long course. Further shocking statistics include the fact that these teenagers are interested in watching a DVD of the Berlin Philharmonic performing Mahler Symphony No. 1 (after rehearsing it for over 8 hours that day). They are quite simply the most awesome group of teenagers. Despite their commitment and dedication to music, they are also infectiously fun! You can’t be around them and not smile! Come to their concerts and they will literally blow you away

http://www.nyoi.ie/events/event/summer-2011-nyoi-under-18s/

BUT this blog is all about showing you the other side of NYOI…

Like the students of Hogwarts in Harry Potter, NYOI were sorted into teams at the beginning of the 2011 summer course. While the famous Hogwarts artefact, “the sorting hat”, magically determines which house each student belongs to in Harry Potter, a person’s choice of instrument has determined which team they belong to. Often, instrument choice reflects a person’s personality… but we’ll delve into that a little later in our Guide to the Orchestra.

For now all you need to know is that the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland has seven teams competitively vying for “house points”: 1^st violins, 2^nd violins, violas, cellos, basses & percussion, woodwind and brass.

Each musician can gain or lose points for their team based on their punctuality, participation, working cooperatively with fellow musicians, following instructions or completing tasks on time. As well, points may be gained or lost for their team based on achievement in evening activities such as sports, entertainment and downright crazy stuff… including…

Check out this short clip of teams competing for the title of "Team that can collectively wear the most clothes!"

Untitled from NYOI on Vimeo.

Can you Handel this?

2011-06-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

There is of course always the compulsory table quiz during the NYOI course... but these days the correct answer is just at the touch of an iPhone... so we wanted some "outside the box" thinking, some imagination and creativity and here are some of the best bits!

Draw a picture of a three-legged ostrich race...

Come up with a musical pun...
You can't Handel this
We're bringing sexy Bach
Your pp is too big
The horns violated the cellorando soh the conductor gave them a Hayden
Playing soft is not your forte
If you can't find someone to sing with you, you've got to duet by yourself

We are working on a brilliant Guide to the Orchestra video blog... stay tuned!

Love from NYOI x

Summer Proms 2011

2011-06-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

NYOI's final activity for the 2011 Season is just around the corner. Next Saturday, 25th June, 93 young musicians will descend upon Kilkenny College for the Summer Course. A week of intense rehearsal will be led by our fantastic group of professional musicians and conductor Garry Walker.

Follow our blog as we promise to entertain you throughout NYOI's week of rehearals.. and until then, why not book tickets to one of our concerts!

Wish you had been there?!

2011-03-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Let the video load, turn up the volume and enjoy this 3 minute clip of NYOI's tour of the UAE!

NYOI tour of the UAE from NYOI on Vimeo.

A talented Dubai student reviews talented young Irish musicians

2011-03-25T03:43:00.000-07:00

Irish youth concert underlines Dubai's multicultural good fortune
Living in Dubai, one gets used to its vibrant, multicultural spirit. On March 17 – the Irish feast of St Patrick’s Day – our school secured invitations for its music students to attend a concert by the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland.

It struck me how fortunate we are, as a group of young people from all over the world, to be able to celebrate an Irish national holiday with traditional music while in a country in the Middle East. There probably aren’t very many cities where teenagers have the opportunity to interact with people from such varied backgrounds. The honeypot of musical, artistic, sporting and literary talent that the UAE is becoming presents us with the chance to grow into quite open-minded individuals, and most of us have no hesitation about joining in festivities with our counterparts from different parts of the globe.

One of our teachers used to be part of the Irish National Youth Orchestra when he was a teenager, so he was looking forward to the performance that night probably even more than we were. What I love most about classical concerts is just how deliciously posh they are, and even if you aren’t a particularly keen aficionado of orchestral music, it’s hard to resist an excuse to fish out your under-worn evening dresses from the back of the wardrobe.

The venue was the Madinat theatre in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, which I hadn’t visited before (anything housing boutiques outside the price range of H&M usually doesn’t feature on my mall radar). The least enjoyable bit of the whole excursion was getting there. Traffic on a Thursday evening is never exactly light, but taking half an hour to crawl about 100 metres was simply hair-tearingly frustrating, and I would not have taken it well had we missed the beginning of the concert; it upsets the balance of the programme completely. Our early start paid off, however, and we arrived with a bit of time to spare – just enough to have a look around the souq before the performance.

The magical Arabian Nights atmosphere was lovely; there were stalls where you could have your name written in sand art inside glass bottles, and shops straight out of Disney’s Aladdin. The souq was separated into areas with names such as “Bastakiya” and “Deira” – names of old Dubai neighbourhoods. I even got to pet a falcon which turned its beak up at me disdainfully as I tentatively poked its head with my index finger.
At the entrance to the theatre, about five people spent a good 15 minutes looking for my name in a five-page guest list they had, couldn’t find it, and with typical Irish goodwill, decided that the fact I had an invitation card was good enough and effusively ushered me through. For once, we had managed to procure seats right at the front. The theatre itself has decent acoustics, and it was stunning with its little Arabian embellishments. The feel of St Patrick’s Day, though, didn’t kick in until the orchestra had tuned up and launched into the first piece, Irish Destiny by Micheal O’Suilleabhain, conducted by Gearoid Grant.

The composer himself was at the piano, the sections were in perfect harmony with each other and it was all quintessentially Celtic. I had more than a few pouty “not fair!” moments because this didn’t happen to be just another famous national philharmonic orchestra – it was a youth orchestra. Which meant that all the members, except the pianist and the conductor, were aged 12 to 18 years and they were all nauseatingly good, and you can’t use age as an excuse to explain away why they’re better than you.

There was a 15-minute interval during which I gulped down as many of what looked like pieces of chicken on crackers as I could; an hour and a half of listening to music helps you work up a healthy appetite. The second, shorter piece they played, The Brendan Voyage by Shaun Davey, featured Liam O’Flynn, captivating on the uilleann pipes.

It was, on the whole, a joyful mingling of cultures: the sense of pride the orchestra felt in bringing a piece of the Emerald Isle to a Dubai audience was palpable. Mr Grant, the conductor, was resplendent in a waistcoat with acid-green lining for a sense of occasion. The chairman of the ensemble, John Dennehy, smugly informed us that they had succeeded in getting a giant shamrock projected on to the Burj Al Arab.
It wasn’t just a musically enriching experience, but, for one enjoyable evening, gave us a taste of another way of life – and that’s not just a lot of blarney.

The writer is a 15-year-old student in Dubai.
This article was printed in The National (UAE's national newspaper) on 23 March 2011

NYOI's amazing trip to the UAE ends with a session in the sky

2011-03-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

This time last week NYOI were preparing for their first concert in Dubai. One week on and it's hard to believe we were actually there! Our audiences were a multicultural melting pot... thank you to each and everyone of them for the warm reception we received at our concerts in Dubai, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi.

Congratulations to the fabulous NYOI and Gearóid Grant for three amazing concerts with soloists Mícheál Ó Suilleabháin and Liam O'Flynn. Special thanks and congrats also to Noel Eccles and Jonathan Ford.

Apart from the three fantastic concerts some of the highlights included the Burj Al Arab turning green for St Patrick's Day as NYOI performed in the Madinat Theatre at Souk Madinat Jumeirah ....

Staying on Yas Island, we were treated to a tour of the Yas Marina Circuit and couldn't leave without a trip to Ferrari World for a trip on the fastest rollercoaster in the world!!

More updates and photos to follow but for now we'll leave you with a clip of Etihad's new in-flight entertainment... this is what happens when 100 musicians are on a long haul flight together... check out Liam O'Flynn and Mícheál Ó Suilleabháin in the middle of it all!

DUBAI CONCERT SOLD OUT!!!

2011-03-10T06:43:00.000-08:00

Tickets to NYOI's St Patrick's Day concert in the Madinat Theatre, Dubai are now officially SOLD OUT! It has been wonderful to see reservations coming in from all different nationalities including of course lots of Irish and Emiratis!

NYOI can't wait to show our vibrant, mutli-cultural audiences how fabulous Ireland is!

Tickets are still available for concerts in Al Ain on 18 March and Abu Dhabi on 19 March.

http://www.nyoi.ie/events/event/march-2011-nyoi-st-patricks-day-tour/

NYOI listed on Abu Dhabi Festival programme

2011-03-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

Abu Dhabi Festival is organized by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. The Festival is the UAE’s foremost celebration of art and culture bringing together the greatest musicians, performers and artists from both the East and West in the heart of the United Arab Emirates. It seeks to reflect the determination of the capital to take the lead in cultural understanding.

Click on the link below to see NYOI's listing in the festival programme

http://www.abudhabifestival.ae/en/events/festivals-2/abu-dhabi-festival-2011/programme-1/community-programme/national-youth-orchestra-of-ireland.html

Two weeks to go...

2011-03-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

...until NYOI jet off to the UAE for a sensational St Patrick's Day extravaganza with soloists Liam O'Flynn and Mícheál Ó Suillebháin.

Check out our website for details of concerts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain http://www.nyoi.ie/events/event/march-2011-nyoi-st-patricks-day-tour/

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

We can't believe that NYOI's week in Kilkenny is nearly over. After almost 40 hours of rehearals and lots and lots of fun the orchestra have now packed up and are relaxing before the journey to Dublin early tomorrow morning.

The orchestra sound fantastic and have worked tirelessly to prepare for the concert tomorrow. We hope you can join us at the Helix in Dublin at 3pm tomorrow and experience some NYOI magic for yourself. Tickets are still available from www.thehelix.ie or 01-7007000.

Enjoy the preview of the Waltz from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and we hope to see you at the concert tomorrow.

NYOI rehearse Sleeping Beauty Waltz from Zoe Keers on Vimeo.

The First Tutti

2011-01-01T12:29:00.000-08:00

NYOI tell us about the nerves, excitement and anticipation in the build up to the first tutti. After two and a half days of various sectional rehearsals, the first run through is a magical moment for everyone.

The First Tutti from Zoe Keers on Vimeo.

It's not all work and no play on the NYOI course

2010-12-31T11:56:00.000-08:00

NYOI rehearse for up to eight hours a day for six days on a residential course but they still have plenty of energy left to enjoy their evenings! Here are a few clips of the evening entertainment at NYOI, from wacky ice-breakers to brilliant table quizes and amazing talent shows.

NYOI After Dark from NYOI on Vimeo.

More from sectionals at the NYOI Winter Course

2010-12-30T05:54:00.000-08:00

NYOI Sectionals day 2 - Dec 2010 from NYOI on Vimeo.

Behind the scenes at the NYOI winter course - Day 2

2010-12-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

NYOI sectionals Dec. 2010 from NYOI on Vimeo.

First concert of the 2011 Season

2010-12-14T06:19:00.001-08:00

Sunday 2nd January / Mahony Hall, The Helix / 3pm

A festive feast of Tchaikovsky

Tickets €15 / €10

http://www.thehelix.ie/ / 01 7007000

Welcome to the NYOI Blog!

2010-12-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

It may be 12 days until Christmas but what we're really excited about is that it's 14 days until the first NYOI Course of the 2011 Season!!

The 2011 Season has lots of excitement in store as we prepare to feast on Tchaikovsky at Christmas, travel to the UAE in March and welcome a new conductor ( Garry Walker ) in the Summer!

The NYOI players will be blogging between rehearsals to keep you up to date on all the news from our course this Christmas... stay tuned!!