New Brunswick Youth Orchestra performs at Carnegie Hall
Jumping off the bus in the Big Apple, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra assumed Carnegie Hall for the first time in 20 years.
“When I walked on stage I really couldn’t believe it was real and I think I speak for all the NBYO members as well because everyone I’ve spoken to, it just seems surreal,” said 15-year-old Skylar Brigley-Byers playing the violin.
“We can’t even believe it actually happened.”
The group spent last week in New York City. They got the chance to sightsee, rehearse, and of course, give a main performance at Carnegie Hall.
“The acoustics and just the reverberation of the entire venue was… I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Brigley-Byers.
“It was also very big. I’d say bigger than any other music venue I’ve ever been to.”
Although the experience is not yet fully established, the musicians were given the opportunity to experience something they will never forget.
“It was actually a lot of fun,” said 15-year-old Kalvin Rowe, who plays the clarinet.
“I was really nervous because it’s Carnegie Hall and you have to live up to its reputation, but I had a lot of fun when I was on stage and especially in rehearsal. I got to make memories with people on that stage and it was really exciting.
NBYO not only represented the province but also the country with their 25 minute time slot. They were the only Canadian group on stage for the Vienna Masters Invitational.
“They really did a great job,” says music director and conductor Antonio Delgado. “They were enthusiastic and what I liked most about their performance, our performance, was the energy. The energy was there and they played their hearts out.”
He adds that while it was a great experience, it was also very nerve-wracking as some of the best musicians in the world have performed in the same place.
“It’s a humbling experience, just walking back on stage and seeing the pictures and pictures of great conductors and orchestras and performers, it’s like ‘well I’m playing in this place too. I have to do my best.’ It is a humbling experience, but I am very proud of what we have done together with the orchestra,” he said.
The orchestra consists of 85 young people from all over the province, ranging from 12 years old to university students.
For Rowe, it was a dream come true and an opportunity that he hopes will open more doors in the future.
“Since I started Sistema when I was 5 or 6, I’ve always wanted to be a musician and that continues,” he said.
“I was really nervous going up, especially because I had some solos. I didn’t want to ruin it. Very nervous for that.”
However, he adds that once he started playing he quickly got into his own bubble and is very happy with how he performed.
Delgado says his best advice for the musicians is to play every gig as if they were at Carnegie Hall, especially since that’s what helped them get there in the first place.
“This event happened because we shot a video in response to a commercial and we did it with the intention of just promoting what we do,” he said.
“That resulted in an invitation from this organization that runs the program and they told us that they usually select orchestras by audition and they said, ‘You don’t have to send an audition because this video is your audition. Just say yes or no and we said yes.”
He adds that NBYO’s journey to Carnegie Hall is a great example for current and future musicians that preparation, hard work and consistency will yield amazing results.
