At the La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra season finale in May I was a bit worried. The orchestra seemed as close to perfect as it could get. The program was extremely difficult but those kids played it brilliantly without a missed note and got a standing O. So why worried? Because a whole bunch of them were leaving to go to University - way more than at the end of any other season that I could remember - and I didn’t think that there was any way that the board would be able to come up with enough new kids to fill the gaps, both physically and musically. Wrong! I don’t know how to spell aye yaye yaye but you get my drift.
I went to the first concert of the season – Home for the Holidays – at Port Hope United Church, along with an almost full house, and I can tell you that the latest version of LJYO is astonishing. What Music Director Michael Lyons and Director of Strings Laurie Mitchell have accomplished in the couple of months they have had with these kids is nothing short of a miracle.
They looked marvelous – every single one of them, males and females, wearing a red Christmas tie – and they played as if they had been playing together for years. From the very first note of the opener, March of the Toys, they were off and conquering the hearts and souls of every person in the audience.
Playing pieces from Vaughan Williams to Tchaikovsky to Holst to Leroy Anderson this new batch of kids was an absolute delight and had the audience on its collective feet at the end with applause that was deafening. As you may have gathered I cannot find enough superlatives for La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra. Every single one them should be mightily proud.
The next concert is In the Spotlight on February 15th, 2009 and will be in the concert hall at Victoria Hall in Cobourg. It starts at 3:00 and I suggest you get there early in order to get a seat.
You can purchase tickets on the website:www.ljyo.ca, at 1.866.460.5596, at the Victoria Hall box office and at Cameco Capitol Arts Centre box office.
At intermission I met a couple who just recently moved to Port Hope. They were totally bowled over by LJYO and had every intention of making a donation and going to all the concerts. Me too. See you there.
Selena Forsyth
