Asian Youth Orchestra – 18th Season
To AYO Family and Friends:
It is 5:30 am in Taipei. I am standing amidst chaos in the lobby of our hotel. 100 Asian Youth Orchestra members are struggling with their instruments and luggage and the hardest thing of all, saying goodbye to each other. "I can't believe it's over," whispers one of the Hong Kong members, tears welling in his eyes. "Six weeks of being together has suddenly come to an end."
It goes so fast. Three weeks of lessons and rehearsals with giants in the music world, three weeks on tour with leading conductors and soloist, a lifetime of opportunities and experiences. Six weeks of unforgettable music-making and memories for 100 "kids," a year's effort for the three of us at AYO - Richard Pontzious, who started it all with the late Yehudi Menuhin 18 years ago, our secretary Corina Ho and me. A year of coordinating with colleagues and volunteers in 10 different countries and territories, daily conversations with our concert presenter in China to see what challenges we face and how to make problems disappear, a year of meetings with company representatives about the possibility of sponsorships.
"AYO changed my life," says Chino Ishiwata as she steps onto a bus that will take her to the airport for her flight home to Japan.
Six weeks and we can see the changes on so many young faces. Confidence. Pride. Success.
These are "Hong Kong's Cultural Ambassadors" wrote popular Hong Kong columnist Chow Fan Fu, who traveled with us for most of the tour.
Superstar cello soloist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist Wang Jian, who heard AYO for the first time the night before he played the Elgar Cello Concerto with the orchestra under Richard's direction in Taipei, was effusive:
"My experience with the AYO was nothing less than a miracle. At first, I was incredulous, shocked and could not believe what I was hearing. How could it be, that these young and inexperienced musicians could sound like one the best orchestras in the world? Very quickly I felt the rush of excitement, warmth and gratefulness to be there to hear such wonderful music making. The power of music was manifesting in all it's magnificence in their playing, so rarely heard. I don't understand how you did that in less than two months. I only hope you will be doing this for a long time to come."
Six weeks.
Once again the Rehearsal Camp was held in Hong Kong, with the Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong government, Mr. Henry Tang, our guest of honor at the Camp Opening Ceremony. And then three weeks of hard work. What a fantastic opportunity for the orchestra members to spend nine hours a day with AYO's distinguished artist-faculty, learning their parts, fine-tuning their technique, our passionate and energetic associate conductor preparing the orchestra for Maestro James Judd's arrival the last week of the Camp, Richard shaping the kids to his artistic vision.
Our Rehearsal Camp today has become more of a full-blown Music Festival with performances by our own distinguished artist-faculty, master classes by individual faculty members and this year by soloist Elmar Oliveira. One of the highlights this year was an exclusive performance by the North Korean Pyongyang Children's Art Group given to AYO's members and staff. Our initial plan was a 15-minute cultural exchange that would give us a taste of North Korean Culture. But they were very serious about this exchange. They brought their own local instruments and sound equipment for a performance that lasted 45 minutes. The performers, ranging in age from seven to fifteen, were true professionals. At the end of their performance, they received a standing ovation from our AYO, and several of our Korean members had tears in their eyes when our concertmaster, South Korean Kim Soo Ji, presented a bouquet of flowers to the North's representative.
The first destination of this year's tour was Suzhou, China, via Shanghai, where the plane touched down at Pudong airport at 9:30 pm. There were few people at the immigration line until AYO arrived, all wearing the same blue AYO T-shirts. Mr. Pontzious and I went through first. About 10 minutes later, one of the orchestra members came to me and said the immigration officer wanted to speak to the leader of the group. The officer was very curious about who we were, and why we were all wearing the same T-shirts, what we were doing in Shanghai. Then he asked if he could take a photo of the group. We were happy to oblige but asked him why: "Oh, your group is the first big group to arrive at this new terminal and we want to make big news about it." Knowing that security had been tightened ahead of the Olympic Games, we were wondering if this was part of the new "welcome." They also wanted a copy of our tour handbook. A group photo in front of a giant "Welcome to Shanghai" billboard and we were on our way, arriving in Suzhou just after midnight.
The opening concert of our tour was played in the newly opened Suzhou Technological and Cultural Arts Center Theater. The theater, at the edge of a lake, is itself magnificent, somewhat like the bird's nest stadium in Beijing, and the staff very professional. Maestro Judd conducted the first night and Richard the second. The orchestra rose to the occasion and the audiences were blown away. With only three weeks of rehearsals, we never know how the orchestra will sound that first night in front of an audience. In this case the crowd didn't want us to go home, and the faculty traveling with us, violinist Thanos Adamopoulos, double bassist David Sheets, trumpeter Ed Hoffman and low brass coach Jim Olin were unanimous in their comments: "fantastic."
Our second stop was Nanjing, about a two-hour bus ride from Suzhou. We arrived at the hotel about noon, and after a short rest, the stage team, double bassists, percussionists, harpist, pianist, Richard and I left for the theater to check on the stage setting and instruments. Being a touring orchestra, we rely on the local organizer to arrange the oversize instruments we need for the performances.
Yikes! It was 40-degrees Celsius in the hall and there were only a handful of folding chairs on the stage. The local instruments were scattered backstage. "Keith, we have a problem!" One of the percussionists got my attention. "The timpani they gave us are the kind that can't be tuned during the concert, and the xylophone is for Chinese orchestra, not for classical music." "Keith…" a scream from the harpist, "The tuning key doesn't fit so I can't tune the harp." Another shout: " Keith, the piano hasn't been tuned, and it's so dusty." The list seemed to be endless but we had to deal with the problems. The percussionists were very clever. They put weights (soda cans in plastic bags) on each side of the timpani so that they could manipulate the tuning. Richard asked the Hong Kong piccolo player if he could play the notes usually played by the xylophone. "Sure." We told the local organizer that if we couldn't tune the harp, we wouldn't be able to perform. Miraculously, three different tuning keys appeared and the harp was tuned. I dusted the piano. One by one the problems were solved.
We asked the artists and the orchestra whether AYO should visit such places. I feel so proud that everyone agreed it is one of AYO's missions to educate and to expose people to good music. The opportunity to hear a full symphony orchestra in some cities in China is rare. Against many odds we take our music everywhere!
From Nanjing, we returned to Hong Kong, rushing only minutes after touchdown to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre for a free concert for disadvantaged and special needs children and their families. During the annual 90-minute "informal" concert generously supported by the Lee Hysan Foundation and an anonymous donor, Richard invites young audience members on stage to touch and hear different instruments, which are demonstrated by AYO members. The volunteers then stay on stage and sit with the orchestra so they can experience the full orchestra sound as guest AYO members.
"My son will never forget this experience. Thank you for making this possible," said the father of a young man with down syndrome. The mother of another young man came to the stage after the performance to say, "Although my son cannot speak to you, I could see that he was so excited by the chance you gave him to be in the orchestra." For over 1,000 children and their parents this was a special event. It is for us each year, as well.
The orchestra had distinguished itself playing five concerts in five days in three Chinese cities. But before we left the concert hall, the Cultural Centre staff told us that the Typhoon signal 1 warning had been hoisted and we should have a contingency plan in case the signal went to No. 8, when all events in Hong Kong must be cancelled.
Morning came, dark, windy and with drenching rain. The No. 8 signal was hoisted. At 7 am, I started to receive telephone calls from the Cultural Centre staff as well as Radio and Television Hong Kong, who were set to broadcast the concert on radio and television. What was our contingency plan? When should we decide the concert should go on? How should we handle ticket refunds, if necessary?
It was agreed that if the No. 8 signal was not lowered by 5 pm, the concert would have to be canceled. There wasn't much we could do except to pray for the typhoon to move away from Hong Kong.
Good news came shortly after 4 pm. The No. 8 signal would be lowered at 5; the concert would go ahead. By 6:15 the orchestra was on stage. Instead of a three-hour full rehearsal for microphone checks and to get the cameras right for television, we had a 45-minute rehearsal to prepare the orchestra. The results were beyond expectations.
This was "too good to be true, a real tour de force" reported music critic Dr. Oliver Chou on Hong Kong's Radio 4. Alisa Weilerstein's performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto was a revelation, he continued. "I could not believe this was the same artist who played the Elgar with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic just a few months ago in the Arts Festival. She merely played with Maazel and the New York Phil; she made music with Richard and the AYO."
The next day our world was back to normal. The orchestra had a three-hour rehearsal with Maestro Judd, and that evening's performance, with violin soloist Elmar Oliveira, was "amazing," raved Dr. Chou. "It was one of those concerts of a lifetime. You had to be there. If you missed the concert make the trip to Shenzhen next week to hear it there." AYO Board member and Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler filed his own review by e-mail: "This year's orchestra sounded to me the best I have heard. They seemed more confident, assured, ‘tight' and energetic."
A day of rest in Hong Kong and we were off to Tokyo for three concerts. Once again, our volunteer team in Japan promoted the concerts with super results. The orchestra played a matinee concert in Sumida Triphony Hall, our first time in this beautiful hall, and the next evening played in the Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Space Concert Hall, where we were honored to welcome the Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Cui Tiankai, to our performance. As Richard has done on previous occasions he made a speech in Japanese to welcome the audience, his Japanese always a surprise to the crowd, then switched to Mandarin to welcome the ambassador.
This year we also played a charity concert in Ota-ku Tokyo for handicapped and disadvantaged children. We were surprised and pleased to find not only young people in the audience, but senior citizens who wanted to learn more about classical music. A few who were sight-impaired were invited to come on stage to touch the instruments. "It was a magical experience," said one.
From Tokyo we returned to Hong Kong, where Mr. Oliveira generously hosted a master class for AYO's violinists, five of whom played for him and received his invaluable advice.
The shortest distance can often take the longest to travel. Hong Kong Island to Shenzhen takes no more than an hour by train if you're alone. For 110 of us traveling with equipment and instruments, the quickest way was by ferry to Shekou and bus from there. Although it took about four hours point to point, we were welcomed with a dinner for the full orchestra hosted by Maestro Judd.
The orchestra performed two concerts at the newly opened 2000-seat Shenzhen concert hall. Performing in such a valley-shaped concert hall with the audience sitting around the orchestra, the members could feel the enthusiasm of the sellout crowd. Adding to the orchestra's excitement was the appearance onstage of cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein in an AYO performance shirt, taking up a seat in the back of the cello section and playing the whole concert, not as soloist, but as an AYO member, simply to enjoy the music-making. Maestro Judd drew a smooth and confident performance from the orchestra. A fan from Shenzhen said that the level of the orchestra was so high that it was the best among those performances he had ever attended. He added that the violin performance was particularly impressive and that Mr. Oliveira was no doubt a master.
Our second concert in Shenzhen, under Richard's direction, turned out to be what Hong Kong writer Chow Fan Fu called a "miracle." The free concert was held as one of the hall's "Beautiful Sunday" programs designed to introduce western classical music. Unknown to us, the concerts in the series are usually an hour long without intermission – 20 minutes of explanation and 40 minutes of music. The repertoire is short and easily recognizable. I told the organizer that we had prepared a full 90-minute program and that if she would trust us we would play our concert but with no intermission, in their usual way. I might have spoken too soon.
An hour before the concert Richard and I could see – and hear – the first 200 of 2,000 people waiting to get in to the hall. Most were children with their parents, including babies in mothers' arms. How could we hold their attention? Would they listen at all or, as is frequently the case in China, would they be up and down, chatty and distracted?
To begin the performance Richard and I went on stage and spoke to the audience. On one hand, we were thrilled to see so many youngsters in the house; on the other hand, we asked the parents for their help to keep their children in their seats so not to interrupt the concert.
"Once again, Richard's charm mesmerized the audience," wrote Chow Fan Fu. "Nobody moved." The audience was silent when the orchestra played Barber's Second Essay. Richard expressed his appreciation to the full house and explained that cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein would join the orchestra to play the Elgar concerto. Again rapt attention followed by great applause. Alisa played an encore. More applause.
Keeping to the "no intermission" format, Richard and I followed Alisa's encore by introducing the orchestra country-by-country. We thanked the crowd for their attention and commented that it was one of the best audiences we had had in many other cities on the mainland. Richard then conducted Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, which ends in barely a whisper. The audience understood; deafening silence and then enormous applause, demanding an encore. Two hours, no intermission and two thousand children and parents were still in their seats. In deed, many in the audience stayed and waved to the orchestra members as they walked off stage.
On the bus ride back to the hotel, none of us could believe how well the audience had responded. Maestro Judd and Mr. Oliveira were so pleased to see those young people at the concert. They commented that in Europe or the US, children would not be allowed in. It was wonderful they had the chance to learn about classical music at a young age.
From Shenzhen, we took the ferry back to Hong Kong and then a Cathay Pacific flight to Taipei for the final two concerts of the tour, so generously sponsored by Primasia Securities.
The last concert of the tour is always an emotional event. I could see tears welling up in the eyes of several orchestra players during the rehearsal. It would be the last time the whole orchestra would play together. At the concert, we could feel the orchestra was sad but focused. They wanted to play their best to remember this year's tour. Wang Jian's performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto was a triumph, Richard and the orchestra with him at every moment. Many in the audience were seen sobbing quietly during the slow movement. Stunned silence greeted the softest ending of Romeo and Juliet. The Kabalevsky Galop encore brought a roar of approval.
Richard introduced the orchestra and then, in the AYO tradition, conducted the Nimrod from Elgar's Engima Variations, which is played at the opening of every Rehearsal Camp and as the last encore at the final concert of the tour, as our way of saying goodbye to each other. There were few dry eyes when the orchestra members hugged and thanked one another for their hard work and friendship.
Keeping with another tradition, Richard hosted the orchestra's farewell dinner. Country by country the orchestra members came over to express appreciation. "Thank you for giving us these valuable AYO experiences." "We will never forget the wonderful concerts we played together." "I will continue to work hard and hope to come back to AYO again next year."
Then came bass trombone player Degawa Hirotaka and violinist Saito Sonoko, both AYO members for the past three years. "Mr. Pontzious, I want to tell you that Sonoko and I will be married in April," said Hirotaka. We almost fell off our chairs. We had no idea they were dating. They met in AYO and had fallen in love. We announced the news to the orchestra; cheers and congratulations were nonstop.
After only a couple of hours of sleep we were down in the chaos in the lobby. There was hugging and kissing as the members said goodbye. It was rude to have to separate them and push them on to their buses. Some of them might never meet again. "See you on Facebook," one member yelled.
Six weeks and the 18th AYO was history. Mr. Oliveira sent an email saying that he was still "luxuriating in the memory of our wonderful tour together." Maestro Judd wrote:"Conducting the AYO this summer was an inspiring privilege. The quality of the orchestra was astonishing by any standards. To make music together with the fine musicians of the AYO was to make music with a great orchestra, backed up by first-rate organization. To see such talented individuals mature in so little time into a unified ensemble able to probe deep into the nuances of the music was thrilling. What a perfect example of harmony in the world, and what finer Ambassador for Asia than the AYO."
Alisa Weilerstein's comments were extremely generous:
"When I came to play with AYO, I knew to expect great things. I knew that the orchestra members were among the best in Asia and I looked forward to meeting people from so many different cultures. However, what I actually experienced was something beyond my wildest dreams. To say that the enthusiasm exuded by everyone (and I do mean everyone) was infectious is a gross understatement! Musically, it was fascinating to watch every performance grow exponentially. I don't think I've ever experienced a tour where every concert was so significantly better than the one that preceded it. The players seemed to get progressively more inspired and by the end of the tour were listening to each other like real chamber musicians — and their playing inspired me to no end. Beyond that, I am so happy to say I made friendships on the tour that I know will last a lifetime. I can only extend my most heartfelt thanks to Maestro Pontzious for creating this incredible orchestra!!"
So many people lend support to make it possible for these young musicians to make great music. Finances are always a challenge and this year was no exception for AYO. But our friends helped pull us through: Primasia Hong Kong and Taiwan, Cathay Pacific, Fuji Xerox and the Lee Hysan Foundation, the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund, Boeing International Corporation and Crestwood Pacific Group, the YS Liu Foundation, Korean Consul General T.Y. Seok for seeking support from more than a dozen Korean corporations and individuals, Mr. Shoichi Asaji, so many volunteers across Asia, and our terrific Board of Directors who share their time and talents year-round.
Our deepest appreciation to all,
Keith Lau
General Manager |
