South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation

South African National Youth Orchestra
Abbreviation	SA NYO, NYO or Nationals
Formation	1964
Type	National Youth Orchestra
Headquarters	Cape Town & Pretoria, South Africa
Management	The Nationals Team
Main organ	Board of Directors
Parent organization	SANYOF
Website	www.sanyo.org.za

The South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation (SANYOF) is a non-profit organisation in the music education and development sector. The Foundation supports the training and development of South Africa’s young musicians through national courses, national and international tours and workshops, and networks nationally and internationally; and assisting regional youth orchestra programmes countrywide. It organises annual youth orchestra courses, where the South African National Youth Orchestras are formed. This has included the South African National Youth Orchestra, South African National Concert Orchestra, the South African National Wind Orchestra and the South African National String Orchestra. Members of these orchestras are aged between 13 and 25.

The Foundation

The Foundation is supported entirely through private funding. Sasol has been a sponsor since 1979. The Foundation is also supported by De Beers, Rupert Musiekstigting, Adcock-Ingram, South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), Primedia (1998 tour), AECI, and Business & Arts South Africa over a number of years. SANYOF is run primarily by volunteers. The Foundation is a cooperating member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO).

Courses

The orchestra course is held every year during the winter school holidays, in a different city in South Africa. Courses have been presented in Bloemfontein, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Stellenbosch. Repertoire includes a wide variety of works by romantic, 20th century and contemporary composers, with an emphasis on performing works by South African composers. This course has also been known as an opportunity to participate in chamber music, socialise and establish friendship. A highlight of the course is the annual soccer match. The Foundation has hosted three separate courses in 2010. This was a break from the tradition of a single winter course, and included a course specifically for string instruments, and a course for winds, brass and percussion, as well as the annual Sasol National Youth Orchestra Course for symphony orchestras. 2010 was the first time that the National Youth Orchestra (strings) performed at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

History

The course first started as a holiday music camp at Hartbeespoort Dam in 1964, with 87 participants, organised by the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT). The early pioneers included Korie Koornhof, Arthur Wegelin, Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg and Diane Heller together with the first conductor, Leo Quayle.

The seeds those early pioneers sowed quickly took root and in 1975 the SA National Youth Orchestra took part in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aberdeen, followed by a short tour of Europe three years later. In 1979, Sasol came on board as a founding partner of the National Youth Orchestra Foundation to provide infrastructure and organisational skills. Sasol remains a committed partner to this day, providing sponsorship for the annual youth orchestra course and its development initiatives.

The SA NYO Foundation holds courses around the country with tutelage by top local and international teachers and conductors.

Under the management of Dorothy van de Geest and with the help of her husband, Professor Gerard van de Geest, the South African National Youth Orchestra reached unprecedented levels, performing in Scotland, in Europe and in Red Square in Moscow. Dorothy died in 2004.

In 2006, the SA NYO took part in the Beethoven festival in Bonn performing a programme of South African works in addition to Beethoven's symphony no. 5.

Highlights

• 1974 Orchestra course held in Durban with 260 participants. Two participants (Piet Koornhof - violin, and Human Coetzee - Cello) invited to Interlochen, Michigan to play in the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra. EMI produces a record of the course.

• 1975 The NYO participates in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival in Scotland and tours Europe. They form part of a mass orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado.

• 1978 The NYO tours Israel, featuring in the Festival of Youth Orchestra held in honour of the 30th anniversary of the State of Israel. Tour continues to France and Switzerland.

• 1980 Founding of the South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation.

• 1984 The NYO performs the commissioned work "Half Moon" together with choirs from Soweto and Sebokeng. The SABC broadcasts a documentary featuring the orchestra course.

• 1988 The SABC broadcasts a documentary on the history and background of the Course. Gérard Korsten conducts the National Youth Orchestra in a SABC-TV studio recording.

• 1994 The NYO participates in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival with the performance broadcast on BBC 3.

• 1998 The NYO participates in a massed concert on Red Square, Moscow, in a performance that was televised worldwide. Further performance at the Moscow Conservatory.

• 2000 The NYO participates in the Aardklop arts festival in Potchefstroom.

• 2006 The NYO performs at the Beethoven festival in Bonn, Germany.

• 2010 The NYO:Strings participate in the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, and the NYO is led by a female conductor, Ewa Strusińska, for the first time.

• 2011 Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu narrates the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten.

Past Conductors

Leo Quayle (South Africa)
John Arnold (United Kingdom)
Anton Hartman (South Africa)
Avi Ostrowsky (Israel)
Alberto Bolet (USA)
Alois Hochstraser (Austria)
Ali (Alexander) Rahbari (Austria)
Howard Griffiths (Switzerland)
John Hopkins (Australia)
Reinhard Schwarz (Austria)
Bernhard Gueller (Germany)
Gérard Korsten (South Africa)
Viktor Yampolsky (USA)
Omri Hadari (Israel)
Robert Maxym (Germany)
Hikotaro Yazaki (Japan)
Conrad van Alphen (South Africa)
Stefan Solyom (Sweden)
Fredrik Burstedt (Sweden)
Ewa Strusińska (Poland)
Gerben Grooten (Netherlands)

See also

• Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre
• List of concert halls
• NewMusicSA
• University of Pretoria
• University of South Africa

References

• Malan, Jacques, ed. (1982). South African Music Encyclopedia. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-570286-7. 

Sources

• Official brochure of the Sasol South African National Youth Orchestra Course 2009

External links

• South African National Youth Orchestra Official website