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Whitehorse Orchestra at Rehearsal

  Who are we?    
Up The Whitehorse Orchestra is a community orchestra, centred on the Box Hill area in Victoria, Australia, which rehearses on Saturday mornings throughout the year. It has over 60 playing members. The orchestra provides an excellent and enjoyable musical experience for musicians of all ages, and performs regularly in public. The current programs are listed below.

Joining
All musicians, amateur and professional, are welcome. There are no age or proficiency limits and we do not audition. Generally, potential members join us for a few rehearsals and then decide for themselves whether to apply for
membership or not. To date, the only reason for deferring acceptance of applications has been a practical limit on the number of players of each instrument.

History
The
history of the orchestra is narrated below, and previous programs indicate the type of music that the players and audiences enjoy.

You can download a promotional article (115kb) about the orchestra.

  Friendly atmosphere
The orchestra compensates for its non-audition policy by an atmosphere of friendship and mutual support amongst the members, and by carefully selecting its musical director. This has resulted in a continuously improving performance standard which compares favourably with other amateur orchestras. The orchestra is administered by an elected committee, which in turn appoints the
Music Director.

Funding
The orchestra is funded by concert receipts, members' subscriptions, fundraising, sponsorships and grants. Sponsorships are available and warmly welcomed. Those who wish to become a Friend of the Orchestra or provide other support may
contact the secretary at the address shown below.

Holiday
In January many members of the orchestra holiday together at
Harrietville, in the beautiful Victorian mountains.

       
  Our Conductor    
  Music Director and Conductor - Gerald Keuneman

Through over 30 years of professional music making Gerald has always held a great interest in promoting and supporting adult participation, as well as the enjoyment of fine music. He has conducted the Whitehorse Orchestra since 1990.

Gerald has for many years been involved in workshops for adult amateur musicians, and has conducted orchestras at the Council of Adult Education music camp at Harrietville.

 
Photo courtesy Rod Rees
       
  Our Leader    
  Principal Violinist - Seung Young Chung

With many years of experience in professional orchestras in Korea and Melbourne, Seung Young Chung is a most welcome leader of the orchestra. As a student he studied at Summer Schools in Moscow, Japan and Korea, and graduated from Seoul National University, Korea.

In addition to his orchestral work, he has specialised in string quartet playing and spent many years as leader of the Philharmonia String Quartet in Korea. He has lectured in music for many years. He currently performs in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and other professional groups.

 
Photo courtesy Rod Rees
       
  Current programs    
Up Family Concerts 2008


Sunday 16 March at 2.30 pm.

Saturday 23 August at 7.30 pm.

Sunday 7 December at 2.30 pm.

Concerts - tickets

For concert ticket enquiries for all concerts, email:
tickets

The audience

  Children's Concerts

The regular children's concerts attract capacity audiences and delight them with high-quality music, dancing, acting and narration. These presentations of classics such as "Peter and the Wolf" and "Tubby the Tuba" cater for very young children to see their first full orchestra in a friendly environment.

2008 Children's concert dates

Sunday 15 June
Sunday 5 October

       
  Membership    
  New members are made very welcome, and potential players are encouraged to contact us at
members

Orchestra rehearsals take place each Saturday between 9am and 12pm. at the Box Hill Community Arts Centre, 470 Station St, Box Hill. Visitors are welcome to come and view these rehearsals.

   
       
  Previous Programs    
Up What sort of music does the orchestra play?

The orchestra has a wide repertoire and performs music of many periods and styles. Being primarily a symphony orchestra, the emphasis is on symphonic works, concertos, modern musicals, works for concert band and string orchestra, and children's music.

  2008 - In our first program the young international soloist Ji-Won Kim returned to perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The orchestra also performed the Haydn Symphony No. 94 (The Surprise). See part of the rehearsal at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswQyUHqlo4

In a special concert in May we had the privilege of having two brilliant young soloists, Kyungseo Na performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto, Ji Won Kim performing the Chaconne by Vitali and the two combining in an amazing Handel duet.

In June our children's concerts featured popular Terry McSweeney, the Fun Magic Guy, and tunes from blockbuster movies..

    2007 - In our first program we were privileged to accompany the young international soloist Ji-Won Kim as she performed the violin concerto by Johannes Brahms. In addition, the orchestra performed Beethoven's Symphony No 2.

In the first children's concert Terry McSweemey, the magician, entertained everyone to Harry Potter selections, Pirates of the Caribbean and classical favourites.

In our winter concert we had a brilliant performance of the rarely played piano concerto by Mac Dowell, by soloist John Grayling. Other items included Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave Overture, Dvorak's Carnival Overture, and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring in memory of Joy Eastwood, violinist and longest standing member of the orchestra, who died in April.

In October we did two charming performances of Peter and the Wolf which the children loved.

The November program featured the rarely-played Symphony No 4 by Dvorak.
    2006 - The first program was a concert titled "From Beethoven to Broadway". This featured Beethoven Symph. No.1 and popular light classics.

The first children's concert consisted of: the Star Wars overture, Tubby the Tuba, and several items for piccolo and orchestra. Soloists were David Worsnop, Frederick Shade and Katharine Shade.

The second family concert included Schubert's "Tragic" Symphony, Mozart's overture "The Dream of Scipione", Rumanian Dances by Bartók (for strings), and "Les Misérables" medley (featuring winds, brass and percussion).

The second children's concert included a ballet version of Alice in Wonderland, music by Colin Brumby. We also had a recorder concerto by John Baston with soloist Naomi Johnson.

The final concert consisted of Borodin's Symph No 2, 1st mvt; Tschaikowsky's Francesca da Rimini, William Walton's Crown Imperial Coronation March, and our major work, the Symphony No 1 by Niels Gade.
       
  History    
  Hungarian-born Anthony Szakacs-Cook played wind instruments in several professional orchestras in Melbourne, and was a well-known flute teacher.

The Whitehorse Youth Orchestra was founded by Tony in 1973/74, consisting of the music students of the then Whitehorse Technical College.

This orchestra expanded and subsequently allowed older, non-student members to join, and became the forerunner of the present Whitehorse Orchestra.

 
       
  Harrietville Camp    
Up For many years, for 8 days in January, the orchestra has also joined forces with the CAE in the organisation and running of the annual Summer Music Camp at Harrietville.

"Imagine a picture-postcard mountain village, nestled at the foot of Mt Feathertop and washed by the headwaters of the mighty Ovens River. Imagine, in this verdant setting, a gathering of musicians ... some old, some young ... strings, brass, woodwinds, singers, recorders ... some to rehearse, to perform, to talk music, to learn new skills, to make new friends. Imagine eight days of peace and pleasure. Clear, crisp mornings, sun-drenched afternoons, starry nights. The perfect ambience for music making. The Harrietville Music Camp - a legend now, for nearly a quarter of a century. Be there. Be part of the legend."

See
Harrietville Camp for further information.

 
       
  Contacts    
Up General enquiries:

The Secretary
Whitehorse Orch Inc
P.O. Box 1057, Business Mail Centre
12-14 Nelson Road
Box Hill Vic 3128.

Or contact by email:
enquiries

New members:

Please enquire by email to:
members

Concert Bookings:

For all ticket sales and enquiries, email to:
tickets

Other related websites:

The Eltham Orchestras Inc.
www.elthamorchestras.org.au

Terry McSweeney, The Fun Magic Guy

http://www.terrymcsweeney.netfirms.com

Cathy Skipworth : Computer Services
http://www.jaysee.com.au

Libby Shade : Desktop Publishing
http://www.cornercottage.com.au

Jo Kruithof : Public Speaker
http://www.qualityinsights.com.au

Frederick Shade : Flautist
http://members.westnet.com.au/fredshade/

Contact for group membership including Whitehorse Orchestra
http://www.schoolfriends.com.au/

International listing of classical orchestras and other musical styles
http://www.music-styles-list.com/

Worldwide resource for music-related web sites
http://www.searchmusicnetwork.com/

   

 

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Last modified: 14 Jul 2008