The public debut of the World Youth Alliance Orchestra was outstanding. Personally, the 4 aspects that classify the different levels of chamber groups: tone, unity, intonation and dynamics. Although the whole orchestra was not playing the whole entire time, every piece had a unique tone an the chamber group did a fantastic job in capturing the different tonal qualities in each piece. In regard to unity, the faster pieces are what challenge a chamber groups unity without a conductor. In their repertoire, the Allegro movement of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins as well as other movements challenged their overall ability to stay together. There were some runs that were unclean, but looking at this holistically, after one month of practice, the fact that they played in unity for majority of the performance is mind boggling. Thirdly, their intonation was flawless. The precision of the group as a whole was shockingly in tune. With the amount of players they had, a missed note would be blatantly obvious to a trained ear. Although I do not have perfect pitch, even after 14 years of violin lessons and performances, their intonation was superb. Lastly, yet most importantly their ability to change dynamics was astonishing. Controlling dynamics is fairly simple with a group this small, however their range from pianissimo to fortissimo required an immense amount of skill. I think there is a lot that can be expected from this chamber group over the next couple of years.
The soloists were captivating. Every soloist was connected with the music he/she played and conveyed the pieces emotions very successfully. One soloist I would like to focus on is Colin Mcgregor. His phrasing is outstanding and he’s only 12. He was spot on wiht his intonation and the transitions between phrases were executed very fluidly. If he continues playing, he will definitely become a famous musician.
Greenberg. Talented. His piece brought out strong emotions ever since the first note. He is a brilliant composer and his piece has its own identity and ,in my opinion, stand as tall as the Bach, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi pieces performed. Greenberg is a very promising composer. It is rare to find someone this young, yet so talented.
I must disagree with Daniel when he mentions that these pieces were “too heavy”. What I love about string instruments, is their amazing versatility when it comes to performing. I think the peieces chosen brought out the strengths of the orchestra perfectly. Perhaps I would agree if the WYA attempted to play “Mars” from “The Planets” (a brass heavy piece by Holst) while re- scoring the music for a chamber group. Otherwise I feel that the performance comes close to perfection with mistakes that could be ironed out with little over one month of practice.
