Wessex Youth Orchestra
The Wessex Youth Orchestra has been performing since 1971, and has performed three concerts per year in that time, mostly in the Wessex Hall at Poole's Lighthouse Centre for the Arts. The orchestra has also performed nationally and internationally in festivals, tours and exchanges, and has been broadcast by the BBC. Music provides an education for life, preparing students for all life's eventualities and challenges, both artistic and general.
The orchestra started out life as the Poole College Orchestra, but the WYO now draws almost 100 young musicians from a wide range schools and colleges in the area. Its rehearsals continue to be held in St. Andrew's Hall, on the Constitution Hill site of the Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education.
A musician has to pass an audition to be accepted into the orchestra, with strings being accepted at grade 6 standard, and woodwind, brass and percussion having to be grade 7.
History
The Wessex Youth Orchestra’s first rehearsal took place back in January 1971, in Poole College main hall in North Road. Originally known as the Poole College Youth Orchestra, its membership consisted of a handful of violins, two cellos, lots of flutes and clarinets, one trumpet and one horn. Back then, activities included choral singing, and there were two opera performances and a concert with dance and movement, as well as chamber music coaching. When the Bournemouth and Poole Colleges became one, the orchestra’s name needed a little adjusting and to reflect the large area from which it was beginning to attract its players, the name “Wessex” came into being. The Orchestra was conducted from its foundation until 2007 by Don Riddell MBE, BA, BMus, LRAM, LTCL who was awarded the MBE for services to the Wessex Youth Orchestra in the Christmas honours list 1999.[1] Don died in 2007, but the orchestra continues to be led by his daughter, Susanna Riddell.
Tours
The Orchestra is one of the few in the area to tour extensively within Europe. In the Orchestras 40 year history there have been a total of 15 tours within Europe. 12 Tours were under the Baton of Don Riddell before 1999. Between 1999 and 2009 there was a lull in the orchestras European excursions however in 2009 the Orchestra returned to the black forest under Susanna Riddell, this was followed in 2010 by a shorter tour to Cologne, where the Orchestra performed 3 concerts along the Rhine valley. Most recently, in 2012, the WYO toured to Austria for the Salzburg music festival
Feeder Groups
There are two string orchestras, Wessex Starter Strings (grades 0 - 2) and Wessex Middle Strings (grade 3 - 5), conducted by Jane Lee, and two wind bands, Wessex Junior Fanfare (grades 2 - 4) and Wessex Youth Fanfare (grades 4 - 6), conducted by Pete Turnbull. The range of activities is completed by Music Theory classes given by Rosie Moorsom, covering grades 1-5 of the Associated Board (ABRSM) Theory requirements.
Concerts
The WYO gives 3 main concerts a year - a Christmas show, a summer charity “Prom” (which has raised more than £35,000 for charities) and its main showcase performance – the Gala Concert, which is normally in March. The Gala gives these young musicians the opportunity to test their skills and give a concert of mainstream symphonic repertoire. Notable venues: Poole Lighthouse, Bournemouth Winter Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Bournemouth Pavilion and the BIC.
The WYO repertoire includes: Overtures by Beethoven (Egmont), Borodin (Prince Igor), Brahms (Academic Festival), Dvořák (Carnival), Elgar (Cockaigne), Gershwin (Girl Crazy), Shostakovich (Festive), Strauss (Die Fledermaus), Tchaikovsky (Romeo and Juliet & 1812), Vaughan-Williams (The Wasps)… Concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruch, Dvořák, Elgar, Gershwin, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Walton… Symphonies by Beethoven (no. 7), Borodin (no. 2), Dvořák (no. 8), Mahler (no. 1), Rachmaninov (no. 2), Schubert (no. 9), Shostakovich (nos. 5 & 10), Sibelius (nos. 2 & 5), Strauss (Alpine), Tchaikovsky (nos. 2 & 5), Vaughan-Williams (nos. 2 & 5)… Suites by Bernstein (West Side Story), Bizet (Carmen and L’Arlesienne), Grieg (Peer Gynt), De Falla (Three Cornered Hat), Holst (Planets), Kodály (Hary Janos), Ravel (Mother Goose), Sibelius (Karelia), Stravinsky (Firebird), Tchaikovsky (Nutcracker and Swan Lake), Vaughan-Williams (Folksong), Walton (Henry 5)… Dances by Arnold (English), Borodin (Polovtsian), Brahms (Hungarian), Copland (Rodeo), Dvořák (Slavonic)… Film music from Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, E.T, Superman, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Star Trek, Apollo 13, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Polar Express, Dambusters, 633 Squadron, The First of the Few, The Sound of Music, Fame, Narnia, James Bond, Pink Panther, The Muppets… Show music from Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, Chorus Line, Chicago, The King and I, Lord of the Dance… Not forgetting Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Gershwin’s American in Paris, Ravel’s Bolero, Strauss Waltzes, Polkas, Marches and Gallopps, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Kleinsinger’s Tuby the Tuba (in both English and German) numerous seasonal favourites and so much more…
The next concert is a Gala Concert witch is on Saturday February 27th, 7:30pm at Poole Lighthouse.
Alumni
The Orchestra has seen thousands of young musicians from across the south go through its ranks, and hundreds have graduated to join the ranks of professional musicians, as well as music teaching, special needs teaching, school leadership, composing, community music leadership, conducting, arts administration and other worthy professions. Previous members are present in almost every major orchestra and Music Colleges across the United Kingdom and much of Europe, and many are instrumental, singing and classroom music teachers. Former members include pianist Alison Farr, violinist Duncan Riddell, members of the Amici string quartet, BBC Young Musician winners, conductor Peter Stark, music teacher and Headmaster Tony Mealings, and music teacher, conductor and composer Trevor Jones.
- Peter Stark - Conductor and teacher
- Alison Farr
- Duncan Riddell
- Susanna Riddell
- Helen Nicholas
- Natalie Clein
- Tony Mealings B.Ed - Music teacher, Head teacher and Head of Oxford Music Service
- Trevor Jones B.Ed, Cert.Ed, L.G.S.M., Dip.Mus.Ed - Music educator, conductor, writer and composer
