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| Home | Whitehorse Orchestra at Rehearsal
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| Who are we? | |||
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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 History 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 Holiday |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Current programs | |||
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Family
Concerts 2009 Sunday 3 May at 2.30 pm. Saturday 22 August at 3.00
pm. Sunday 6 December at 3.00
pm. Concerts - tickets For concert ticket
enquiries for all concerts, email:
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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. 2009 Children's
concert dates
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| Membership | |||
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members are made very welcome, and potential players are
encouraged to contact us at members 'at_sign' whitehorseorchestra.org.au 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. The subscription rate for 2009 is as follows: - Full membership is $150 or $75 per half year. - Concession is $120 or $60 per half year. |
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| Previous Programs | |||
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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. |
2009
- For our first children's program we journeyed down to
Toorak College, Mount Eliza, to present the story of
Paddington Bear together with other items. In May we presented a mixed program of classics including the Hungarian March by Hector Berlioz, the overture and 3 other sections of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn, the Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach, and the last movement of the Symphony No. 1 by Brahms. In June our popular concert consisted of selections from shows including Oklahoma, South Pacific and West Side Story and we were very happy to have our own Michelle Pitcher fresh from Italy singing a great group of songs. In August our celebratory concert at MLC for Mendelssohn featured two wonderful soloists, Seung Hae Paik with the Piano Concerto nr 1, and Jennen Ngiau'keung with the fabulous Violin Concerto. In December our guest conductor, Gyula Cseszko, led us through a marvellous program which featured Ji Won Kim, the winner of 2009 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers' Competition. She performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto in her brilliant style. In addition Chang-Seung (David) Park gave a beautiful rendition of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, so it was a concert to remember. |
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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. Our winter concert in August featured two brilliant young pianists, Jack Earle and Elvis Wong, in an exciting performance of the 'Carnival of the Animals' by Saint Saens; they were joined by Donald Baigent and Frederick Shade as guest artists. Beethoven's Egmont Overture and Schubert's Unfinished Symphony also featured on the program, which took place in the MLC Auditorium. In October we welcomed back Donald Baigent as the narrator for "Paddington Bear's First Concert". In our December concert we performed part of the Beethoven Pastorale Symphony, Music from Evita (Lloyd Weber), Hoe-Down from Rodeo (Copland), and were pleased to have ex-member David Rampant performing Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto Opus 11. |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| Harrietville Camp | |||
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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." |
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| Contacts | |||
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General
enquiries: The
Secretary Or contact by email: Please enquire by email
to: For all ticket sales and
enquiries, email to: Other related websites: The Eltham Orchestras Inc. |
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Send mail to
webmaster 'at' whitehorseorchestra.org.au (substitute the 'at')
with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 2 Dec 2009
