Sydney Youth Orchestras

Presents

Saturday 30 May, Verbrugghen Hall

Saturday 31 May, Riverside Theatre

2 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Sydney Youth Orchestras

Upcoming Concerts

Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen

with Pacific Opera

Sydney Grammar School

Conducted by Alexander Briger

Friday 2 October, 7pm

Saturday 3 October, 7pm

Romance and Tragedy

TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo & Juliet: Overture

MAHLER Symphony No.5

Conducted by Fabian Russell

Friday 6 November

Sydney Town Hall

Sydney Youth Orchestras strives to

nurture and inspire young people to

achieve artistic excellence by providing

the best possible orchestral training

program. This leads to the highest

standards of performance supported

by an engaged community of members,

parents and stakeholders.

In all aspects of its operations, Sydney

Youth Orchestras is committed

to upholding its core values. We

pride ourselves on our provision of

inspiration, creativity, collaboration and

excellence.

Sydney Youth Orchestra

SYO Philharmonic

Peter Seymour Orchestra

Symphonic Wind Orchestra

TangoOz

Percussion Ensemble

Speer Orchestra

John Hopkins Orchestra

Camerata Vibrata

Cameratissimo

Chamber Strings

Sinfonietta

SYO is made up of 12 ensembles, with an age range of 6-25.

^

SYO TODDLERS’ PROMS

Leichhardt Town Hall

Peter Seymour Orchestra

Conducted by John Ockwell

Sunday 9 August

9:30, 10:30 & 11:30am

SYO Concerto Competition Final

Chapter Hall, St Mary’s Cathedral College

Sunday 16 August

10am

3SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

T H ER I D EO F T H EVA L K Y R I E S

The Sydney Youth Orchestra is excited

to present The Ride of the Valkyries.

Wagner’s magnificent Der Ring Ohne

Worte (The Ring without words), is an

orchestral selection from the world’s

most epic opera. It features many

of The Ring’s best loved moments

including the Ride of the Valkyries,

Magic Fire Music, Siegfried’s Funeral

March and many more.

Conductor

Mr Alexander Briger

Sydney Youth Orchestra

Michael Dauth – Violin

We’re joined by violin virtuoso

and former Sydney Symphony

concertmaster Michael Dauth for the

world premiere of Concerto for Violin

and Orchestra by Australian composer

Lee Bracegirdle.

4 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Conductor - Alexander Briger

Alexander Briger is the newly appointed

Artistic Director for the Sydney Youth

Orchestras and is one of the most

exciting conductors appearing on the

podium today. After studying at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music, he

moved to Munich and in 1993, won first

prize at the International Competition

for Conductors in the Czech Republic.

He went on to assist and work

closely with Pierre Boulez and Sir

Charles Mackerras. He has conducted

international orchestras such as the

London Philharmonic, LSO, CBSO, BBC

Symphony, Philharmonia, Orchestre

de Paris, Radio orchestra of France,

Konzerthausorchester, Berlin; and opera

at such houses as the Royal Opera

House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne,

Aix-en-Provence, Theatre du Chatelet,

Paris, the Komische Oper, Berlin and

the Canadian Opera Company. He

has also worked extensively around

Australia with Opera Australia and all

the state orchestras. As Artistic and

Music Director of the Australian World

Orchestra, Alexander is a visionary

leader who regularly works with SYO

alumni currently placed in major

orchestras around the world.

5SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Orchestra

Violin 1

Darcy Dauth

Samantha Chiu

Liam Fogarty

Sarah Qiu

Sophia Vasic

Holly Smith

Ashkan Khoshab

Lily Mullin-Chivers

Amy Cohen

Colin Camphausen

Miriam Greenbaum

David Carreon

Sagar Nagaraj

Violin 2

Emily Beauchamp

Karen Kong

Daniel Zhou

Vincent Tsang

Raphael Coulhon

Anthony Youssef

Sabrina Macdonald

Lizzy Greenhalgh

Pana Panaretos

Tania Ma

Annia Mao

Viola

Sergio Insuasti

Joshua Cannon

Calida Tang

Tim Dickinson

Zoe Brown

Marlon Schroeder

Alexander Pettaras

Liam Kinney

Cello

Annabelle Oomens

Hikaru Fuminashi

Joshua Grasso

Nick McManus

Katherine Moses

Amy Chang

Julia Zhong

Rachel Liang

William Goh

Andie Wittenoom Louw

Patrick Carreon

Double Bass

Vanessa Li

Jessica Brown

Ethan Ireland

Adrian Whitehall

Annabel Cameron

Flute

Kinsey Alexander

Elissa Koppen

Clara Pitt

Chloe Hill*

Oboe

Callum Hogan

Eve Osborn

Kate Mostert

Toby Debelak*

Clarinet

Jarred Mattes

James Julian

Jessica Budge

Rachel Thompson*

Bassoon

Alison Wormell

Brighdie Chambers

Maria Smith

Horns

Bevan Nicholas

Eve McEwen

Thomas Edwards

Lotti Ropert

Nick Mooney*

Katie Garman*

Levi Johnson*

Jack Stephens*

Trumpet

Jenna Smith

Alfie Carslake

Sam Thompson

Trombone

Chris Upton

Darcy Shevlin

Jason Ulbrich

Cian Malikides*

David Williams*

Tuba

Yoann Degioanni

Percussion

Rory Wilson

Stuart Rynn

Jessica Fang

Oliver Brighton

Mitchell Sloan*

Harp

Joanne Baee

Kate Moloney

Bold = Principal * = Guest

6 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

This concert presents several extraordinary musical milestones, not only

in a historical sense but as a chance for young musicians to grapple with

some of the greatest orchestral challenges. Wagner unleashed the full

expressive force of the orchestra like never before in his composition

of The Ring Cycle, and the work presented today reveals Wagner at

the height of his power. Our musicians in the Sydney Youth Orchestra

have bravely toiled with the great cultural and artistic significance of

this masterpiece, as well as with their sheer virtuosity, however equally

challenging is the task of interpreting a world premiere. Ride with them on

this tour de force of orchestral music-making!

Richard Wagner (1813-1883):The Ring Without Words

With the new season of Game of

Thrones well under way, what better

time to reflect on a work that in

many ways laid the foundations of

the numerous fantastic, mythology-

inspired stories that have achieved cult

status in recent years. A precursor to

authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, George

Lucas and J.K. Rowling, not to mention

the many cast and crew who helped

bring their stories to life, Richard

Wagner, combining music, poetry and

spectacular visual staging, achieved

something unprecedented and unique

in the history of aesthetic endeavour.

Wagner created a new world from his

19th century romanticized readings

of including the epic tale Das

Nibelungenlied, writing every word

of the libretto and every note of the

15 hour score himself. Wagner boldly

admitted in a letter to a close friend

that “The whole will become – out with

it! I am not ashamed to say so – the

greatest work of poetry ever written.”

The story essentially depicts the rise

and fall of gods and civilisations via

the passage of an accursed ring,

forged from gold stolen from the

river Rhine. The famous and strangely

familiar characters include Alberich

the Nibelungen Dwarf, Brünnhilde the

Valkyrie and Siegfried, grandson of

Wotan, the head of the gods. There

are however close to thirty individual

characters and numerous ‘extras’ who

all inhabit the multigenerational plotline

on a plane shared by mortals and

immortals.

In order to stage this ‘never-before-

seen-or-heard’ scale of work, which

took Wagner around 25 years of

7SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

compositional and poetic labour, he

built the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the

largest ever free-standing wooden

structure.

The gargantuan scale of the

performance limits the choices of

venues however, thus providing Erich

Leinsdorf’s justification for his orchestral

arrangement.

Erich Leinsdorf was one of the most

renowned and famously severe

conductors of the 20th century, he also

arranged Wagner’s other epic opera

trilogy Parsifal. Leinsdorf opens The

Ring with the magnificent “Ride of the

Valkyries”, moving on to the “Magic Fire

Scene” where Wotan warns any who

would attempt to clime his mountain

and seize Brünnhilde from the flames.

Evidently ignoring the warning, the

next musical scene depicts the fearless

Siegfried traversing the flames, albeit

slightly before he musically ascends

Valkyrie Rock. At the break of dawn,

we move with Siegfried on his Rhine

journey and find ourselves at Hagen’s

lair, with the brass ominously hinting at

his evil intentions. Suddenly, Siegfried

is no more, and his funeral march is

followed by the transcendent and

overpowering final scene which sees

the Rhine reclaim its gold, while in the

distance the palace of the gods burns

to the ground.

The orchestra sings on triumphantly

even once all the voices have died

down in Wagner’s Ring. Wieland,

grandson of Richard, explained to Lorin

Maazel that the orchestra “is where

it all is – the text behind the text, the

universal subconscious that binds

Wagner’s personae one to the other

and to the proto-ego of legend”. Maazel

beautifully translated these profound

comments after a later performance

of the complete cycle: “its orchestra

score is the Ring itself, coded in sound.

Decoded, it becomes story, legend,

song, philosophy in countless cosmic

overtones and human undertones.”

- Anthony Albrecht

8 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Lee Bracegirdle - Composer

After early musical studies in

Philadelphia, Lee Bracegirdle attended

the Juilliard School in New York as

a French horn student of James

Chambers, earning Bachelor’s and

Master’s degrees. During his studies

he led a multi-faceted free-lance career

which involved recordings with many

prominent jazz musicians, including

Clark Terry, Ornette Coleman, Stanley

Clark and Teo Macera.

From 1976-1977 he was Co-Principal

Horn with México’s Orquesta

Filarmónica de la UNAM and Principal

Horn with the Chamber Orchestra

of México City. In 1977 he moved

to Germany, where he co-founded

Germany’s premier brass quintet,

Rekkenze Brass.

In 1980 he was appointed Associate

Principal Horn with the Sydney

Symphony Orchestra, where he served

until his retirement in 2012. He has

made numerous recordings for the ABC

as a soloist, chamber musician and

principal horn.

In 1998 he was awarded First Prize

in the Zoltan Kodaly Composers’

Competition for his first orchestral work,

Divertimento for Orchestra. This award

earned him an honorary diploma from

the Chicago-based Kodaly Academy.

Since 1999 he has been Musical Director

of the Australian Chamber Ballet, for

whom he has composed several works.

The SSO has performed the premieres

of his Variations for Orchestra,

Ammerseelieder and Euphonium

Concerto. In 2007 the American Wind

Symphony Orchestra commissioned

and recorded his Threnos for Horn and

symphonic winds. This ensemble also

commissioned his Legends of the Old

Castle, which the SSO premiered during

the 2014 International Harp Congress

with Louise Johnson as soloist. His

music is published by C.F. Peters in New

York and Leipzig.

9SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Lee Bracegirdle - Notes

The conductor Charles duToit said

about concertmaster Michael Dauth, “If

I had to go into battle, he’s the soldier

I’d want at my side”. When a violinist

of this calibre asks for a concerto, you

don’t say ‘No’. Mr Dauth requested and

I gladly accepted. The work’s structure

reflects classic sonata form, with

melodic use of 12-tone serialism in a

very liberal sense.

Allegro:

An opening cadenza presents much of

the material that is developed during

the concerto. The soloist then begins

the legato main melody. An oboe

introduces the second subject and more

complex textures. After a musical ‘full-

stop’ the harp breezes while the soloist

shows off double-stops gymnastics. The

orchestra makes heated philosophical

discussion in the form of a fugue,

utilising all the material so far visited.

A cadenza follows and the movement

ends on a celeste-harp “question mark”.

Adagio:

Plush, heartbeat-swells of strings

underpin the soloist’s opening theme,

based on a magpie’s tune. A Gregorian-

chant-like melody follows, voiced deep

in the orchestra. After these develop,

front-desk string players form a tender

quintet accompaniment while the

soloist whistles a prayer. Passionate,

philosophial full-orchestra passages

follow until the violin’s magpie song

morphs into the Gregorian chant.

Presto (Rondo):

Sizzling percussion introduce the

soloist’s insect-swarm theme. After

woodwinds and brass swat at the

insects, the soloist emerges with a

Gypsy-esque dance tune, bragging

breathtaking technical acrobatics.

These two themes permeate the

movement’s development, interjected

with ideas drawn from the 1st

movement introduction. A wild dance

brings soloist and orchestra together in

a frenzied climax.

10 SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Michael Dauth - Violin

Of English – German origin, Michael

Dauth began violin studies under the

direction of his father, later studying

with Franz Josef Maier and the

Amadeus Quartet in Cologne, and

with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall

School in London. Soon after, he

became Concertmaster of Hanover’s

North German Radio Orchestra and

successfully auditioned for the Berlin

Philharmonic under Herbert von

Karajan.

He was invited to lead the Berlin

Philharmonic Octet, Berlin Piano Trio

and Chamber Virtuosi. In 1988 he moved

to Australia, became Concertmaster

of the Melbourne Symphony, and

was a founding member, Special

Concertmaster and Artistic Director of

the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and

guest Concertmaster of the London

Symphony Orchestra. From 2000-2011

he was Concertmaster of the Sydney

Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Dauth has appeared as a

soloist with major orchestras in Japan,

Australia, New Zealand and Europe

He has recorded the Beethoven,

Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn violin

concertos, the Beethoven Romances,

works by Saint-Saens, Massenet,

Kreisler and Drdla, Schnittke’s Concerto

Grosso (which received the Deutsche

Grammophon prize in Japan), and the

world premiere recording of Takemitsu’s

Nostalghia. His recording of Vaughan

Williams’s Lark Ascending has received

worldwide recognition.

In 2003 he received the Centenary

medal awarded by the Governor-

General for service to Australian society

and the advancement of music.

11SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES

Darcy Dauth - Concertmaster

Darcy Dauth began playing the violin

in 2005 in the Year 3 String Program at

Barker College, under the direction of

Sheau-Fang Low, during which time he

participated in the school’s Chamber

and Symphony Orchestras and various

chamber ensembles.

Darcy obtained his A.Mus.A in 2012

and was a finalist in the 2012 and

2013 Roger Woodward Award. In

2012 Darcy joined the Sydney Youth

Orchestra Philharmonic, becoming its

concertmaster in 2013.

In 2014 and 2015 Darcy attended the

AYO National Music Camp in both

Canberra and Adelaide, and later that

year led the Sydney Youth Orchestra in

the second subscription concert series,

performing at Angel Place with soloist

Simon Tedeschi. Upon finishing Year 12

at Barker College, Darcy was awarded

the Music 2 and Music Extension

prizes. In 2014 he led the Sydney Youth

Orchestra at Carols in the Domain

performing with a variety of celebrities

and well-known artists. In 2015 Darcy

was appointed Concertmaster of the

Sydney Youth Orchestra.

Darcy auditioned and was accepted

into both the Brisbane and Sydney

Conservatoriums of Music and

commenced his Bachelor of

Music Performance at the Sydney

Conservatorium of Music this year.

Darcy is joined by his father, Michael

Dauth for this concerts exciting world

premiere of Bracegirdle’s Concerto for

Violin and Orchestra.

We would like to thank all of our generous donors in 2014-2015

Major Partners

Government Partners

Supporting Partners

Production Partners

SYO BoardJan Bowen – Chair

Anthony Bell – Deputy Chair

Tim Samway – Treasurer

Geraldine Doogue

Malcom Long

Jon North

Pieter Oomens

Artistic PatronRev. Dr Arthur Bridge AM

PhotographyCarol Gibson

Design byDaniel Mui

SYO ManagementStephanie Hutchinson – General Manager

Susan Hart – Business Manager

Aine Markey – Head of Development &

Marketing

Helen Cho – Events Operations Manager

Casey Green – Operations Manager

Gretchen Habermann – Marketing &

Administration Coordinator

Nick Munro – Operations Assistant

Philip Levy – HR Advisor

Gail Pryor – Archivist

Sydney Youth Orchestras 182 Cumberland Street, The Rocks 2000

Phone: +61 2 9251 2422 Fax: +61 2 9251 2744 Email: info@syo.com.au Web: syo.com.au