Youth orchestra takes to the stage
A weekend of music
Concertgoers can expect a musical rendition of the dramatic and exaggerated baroque, some jazzy numbers, and a touch of local music created by Namibian composers.
An orchestra of 87 youth from all over the country with the Youth Orchestra of Namibia (YONA) will perform this weekend on Friday, 23 June and Saturday, 24 June.The gala concert will take place at the National Theatre of Namibia.
"This concert is the culmination of intense music rehearsal with excellent international and Namibian instructors," said Greta Coetzee, the director of YONA.
Led by passion
Concert attendees can expect a musical rendition of the dramatic and exaggerated baroque, some jazzy numbers, and a touch of local music created by Namibian composers.
The junior and senior strings orchestra will be on stage, as well as the wind band and the advanced symphony orchestra.
The conductor of the orchestra is Dorothee Mariani from Switzerland, who also led the orchestra in 2022 with their first youth strings festival. Mariani is the founder of the Orchesterschule Insel in Basel, Switzerland, with her speciality being the cello. The clarinettist Danré Strydom from the Odeion School of Music in Bloemfontein will guide the woodwinds.
The orchestra will not only consist of string players but will also have woodwinds, brass players, and percussionists in the mix.
‘’With this festival, we aim to improve the standard of orchestral musicianship in Namibia and to work towards the formation of a National Youth Orchestra of which Namibia can be proud," said Coetzee. Tickets cost N$120 for adults at the door and on webtickets, and N$50 for children aged 0–18.
Opening the doors to the world
Founded in 2016, the orchestra is based on the Sistema movement. The movement, according to Coetzee, looks to open up the worlds of the orchestra members and empower them to make better life choices. The lessons learned through the orchestra include being punctual and responsible. The youth learn to make new friends from different backgrounds. "In countries all over the world, there are orchestras inspired by the Sistema movement, empowering millions of children to make better life choices," Coetzee said.
The event is sponsored by B2Gold, Stitching Horizon, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the German Embassy, RMB through the FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust, the Dundee Precious Metals Community Trust and the Gondwana Care Trust.