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Meriden musicians selected for Youth Orchestra program

Anastasia Ibrahim, Year 9, and Helen Liu, Year 11

Meriden girls have taken to the stage alongside some of the state’s finest young musicians as part of the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra’s Young Mannheim Symphonists program.

Anastasia Ibrahim, Year 9, and Helen Liu, Year 11, were selected to participate in the youth orchestra program that focuses on delivering historically informed performances of masterpieces by the likes of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven.

Hosted by principal musicians of the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, the program involved workshops, tutorials and orchestral rehearsals and culminated in a celebratory public performance that showcased participants’ impressive grasp of repertoire.

Anastasia, who hopes to pursue a career in music in the future, said she enjoyed connecting and making music with like-minded musicians.

“The activities centred around helping us perform the pieces in a historically informed and accurate way. We participated in sectional tutorials where we played period instruments and had workshops where we learnt about successful female composers and the revolution of recording music,” she said.

Helen said she was grateful for the unique opportunity to work intensively on a historically informed style.

“The program has allowed me to be part of a network of musicians who are experienced in this type of performance. It was inspiring to learn from tutors from all over Australia. They taught us the many aspects of this type of performance and I was even able to try a period clarinet!” said Helen.

Anastasia and Helen are members of Meriden’s Amadeus Program for exceptional musicians. They both have a passion for classical music and agreed that participating in the Young Mannheim Symphonists program has developed their skills as performers.

“It was wonderful to learn so much and have new knowledge to take back to our solo repertoire,” said Anastasia.

“During our rehearsals, we did not have a conductor, so we had to learn to communicate in other ways and ensure we watched our fellow ensemble members throughout each piece. I think this experience will help us perform better in ensembles in the future,” said Helen.

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