Orchestra on Monday night at Cobar High School. Led by conductor James Pensini, Cobar’s Pop Up Choir and Taiko drummers also performed with the orchestra. ▪ Photo
contributed
The Sydney Youth Orchestras (SYO) gave three performances in Cobar on Monday with school children, Cobar High’s Taiko drummers and Cobar’s Pop Up Choir getting the opportunity to perform with them.
SYO are visiting seven Western NSW outback towns as part of their ambitious Big Sky Tour, which brought 65 talented young musicians west to perform unique orchestral music.
Cobar’s primary and high school students attended two Meet The Orchestra Concerts during the day and a community concert was held at Cobar High School on Monday night.
Conducted by James Pensini, one of the leading conductors of youth instrumental music in Australia, the concert featured Andrew Howes’ Royal Far West centenary commission, Feet in the Sand, Heart in the Bush, to which the SYO was accompanied by Cobar’s Pop Up Choir.
Local historian Kay Stingemore gave a presentation on the history of the Royal Far West and its ongoing connection to Cobar.
Pensini led the orchestra through Emu in the Sky and then closed with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a 30 minute piece of music showcasing the power of orchestral music to paint vivid, musical landscapes.
Pensini explained Pictures at an Exhibition was written from the point of view of a person walking through an art gallery and as they walk through, the music changes as the person’s thoughts and emotions change when they view each different art work.
Organisers are hoping the orchestra tour will return again in two years.
