Counterpoint issue 2 by Orchestras Central

NOVEMBER 2017 ISSUE 2

COUNTER POINT

THE MAGAZINE OF ORCHESTRAS CENTRAL

SOUNDS GOOD HOW ORCHESTRAL MUSIC TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIES

BRAINFOOD

ENHANCING CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT WITH MUSIC

MYTHBUSTERS EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA

HEAT ON THE CONDUCTOR TIM CARPENTER - LEADING BY EXAMPLE

INTRODUCING THE ORCHESTRAS

Youth Orchestras Waikato offers a year round programme of activity including workshops, camps and a Senior Youth Orchestra aimed at 12-18 year old musicians. Led by Tim Carpenter, and overseen by Rupert D'Cruze, Artistic Director - Community, the programme contributes directly to growing the ecosystem of orchestral music in our region, giving young musicians opportunities to develop and play together.

This orchestra is for everyone! More than 50 musicians of all ages and abilities meet for the sheer pleasure of playing together and making music. Upcoming events in 2018 include training workshops for players, a ‘pop-up orchestra’ , all-comers ‘just play it’ day , and at the end of the year ‘A Very Rusty Christmas’ with the fledgling Rusty Singers. Rusty Player Orchestra is led by Oliver Barratt

OPUS Orchestra is a professional chamber orchestra that plays a vital role in the creative life of the region. Concert series are held in Hamilton, Tauranga & Rotorua, and occasionally Putaruru and Taupo. OPUS attracts internationally recognised conductors such as Holly Mathieson, and soloists such as Mark Hadlow and Simon O’Neill. Opus has had Peter Walls as Music Director and Principal conductor since 2009.

Along with ‘Sunset Symphony’, performed to crowds of more than 5000 each summer, and education concerts attended by 1500 Waikato school children, TWSO also present two symphonic concerts each year. In 2017, with the support of Creative NZ, the education concerts were livestreamed to rural schools . This all volunteer player orchestra has been performing in Hamilton for over 100 years and has been led by Rupert D’Cruze since 2007.

Orchestrating Transformative Connections in 2018

Established in 2017, OCTavo comprises of twelve professional musicians. The group made their debut at Sensing Music, performing 'Sonoscopia', a commissioned work by Dr Jeremy Mayall, and then in a different configuration of only string players presented 'Music in the Round'. OCTavo is an agile, innovative ensemble available for both public and private concerts.

5 orchestras 6 towns 7 conductors 14 venues 18 soloists 28 concerts 97 musical works 250 musicians 10,000 concert goers

SOUNDS GOOD: ENGAGING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES Orchestras Central recently celebrated it's second year of operation. Year Two has been a time of both consolidation and change with every part of the organisation being evaluated. Our research – an MBA evaluation of Opus Orchestra, a Wintec project on youth, and an internal assessment and benchmarking of TWSO fed in to the OCT strategic plan and highlighted many opportunities for us such as the Rusty Player Orchestra and newly formed ensemble, ‘’OCTavo’’, who have performed their rst two concerts with two more booked for next year.

TWSO Education concerts were attended by 1200 children, and also livestreamed, with around 300 people joining us online. ‘The Pied Piper of Pirongia’, is now available on YouTube and also available through the National Library of NZ for other Orchestras to use. This project was co-funded by Creative NZ, with WEL Energy Trust supporting venue and production costs.

We toured a small ensemble of Opus players to Waikato Museum, Tauranga Art Gallery and St Andrew's Church Taupo. This responded to our community’s demand for fresh experiences – with music and venue both diﬀerent to our usual tours.

Further CNZ funding allowed us to really step outside the norm with ‘Sensing Music’ – a weekend of orchestral experiences for our community.Six events, staged at The Meteor, and all themed towards how all the senses can be stimulated through music, attracted a huge amount of press attention, and both new audience and musicians. The last event, a reprise of the Pied Piper, and 'The Orchestral Petting Zoo’ was so well attended the Meteor had standing room only.

We want to honour our high-quality musicians, and loyal concert goers, but also must focus on being more agile and innovative in years to come, as competition for the arts dollar is erce, and our audiences are becoming more and more discerning. Our audience development plan is key to our success in growing relationships with both our current and future audiences and this contributes to the Regional Arts Pilot being developed by Creative Waikato and a cohort of arts organisations including Orchestras Central. The ‘Rusty Player Orchestra’ is now an integral part of the community. The demand and popularity of the ‘Rusties’ has been outstanding, with our rst event seeing 30 musicians involved, many of whom are now attending other events as audience, or playing with TWSO. The group has now grown to around 50 members.

We have recently redeveloped our youth programme including engaging a young and vibrant conductor, implementing pathways for young musicians, and are reinvigorating our relationships with schools, music teachers, and the University Music School. This as a crucial part of development not only to retain players, but also to contribute to the cultural life in the Waikato. We hope this ‘slow burn’ will bear fruit over the next 3 – 5 years. Under newly appointed Artistic Director: Community, Rupert D'Cruze, the community music programme will help address player 'gaps' as well as create new opportunities for musicians. It is also imperative that we seek to satisfy our funders and audience both in terms of current demand, response to new activity but also as a way of complimenting what is already on offer here. We know that 2018 will be a year of challenge and opportunity as we seek to further grow the orchestral ecosystem as part of the regions cultural activity, and to find fresh and exciting ways to be part of the development of the communities in which we operate.

In March 2017, in conjunction with CELFoundation we presented ‘Orchestrating Outcomes’. Attended by 28 Waikato leaders, Opus Orchestra, and MD Peter Walls, taught the concepts of leadership and followership from the perspective of a conductor and musicians. A fascinating and educational experience for participants, and a direct example of us reaching our community in a new way, it was also an excellent development opportunity for our musicians. In addition, we’ve seen new support for the Orchestra, and even better, a second booking conrmed for March 2018. ''We've not only achieved our desired outcomes, but by putting community engagement and development at the heart of what we do, we're seeing more player participation, engaging more wider and deeply with our audience and developing stronger and more meaningful relationships with our community than ever before''

Susan Trodden CEO - Orchestras Central

BRAINFOOD

HOW MUSIC TRAINING CAN CHANGE CHILDREN’S BRAIN STRUCTURE

A new study by the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC is the latest in a series examining how music learning may enhance children’s emotional and intellectual development Two new studies from the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC show that as little as two years of music instruction has multiple benefits. Music training can change both the structure of the brain’s white matter, which carries signals through the brain, and gray matter, which contains most of the brain’s neurons that are active in processing information. Music instruction also boosts engagement of brain networks that are responsible for decision-making and the ability to focus attention and inhibit impulses. The benefits were revealed in studies published recently in scientific journals, including one in the journal Cerebral Cortex. The results are from an ongoing longitudinal study that began in 2012, when the institute, based at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, established a partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) to examine the impact of music instruction on children’s social, emotional and cognitive development. The neuroscientists have been monitoring the brain development and behavior of children from underserved neighborhoods in Los Angeles, including some learning to play music with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles at HOLA. To examine the impact of music training on their brains, the scientists have used several scientific techniques,

IF THE BRAIN IS A MUSCLE, THEN LEARNING TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT AND READ MUSIC IS THE ULTIMATE EXERCISE.

including behavioral testing, structural and functional MRI scans, and EEG to track electrical activity in the brains. Initial results published last year showed that music training accelerates maturity in areas of the brain responsible for sound processing, language development, speech perception and reading skills. A developmental crescendo For the latest studies, the neuroscientists tracked and monitored changes in 20 children who had started learning to play and read music through the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles program at HOLA at age 6 or 7. The community music training program resembles one that Los Angeles Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel had been in when he was growing up in Venezuela, where it was known as El Sistema.

The Youth Orchestra Los Angeles students in this study learned to play instruments, such as the violin, in ensembles and groups, and they practice up to seven hours a week. The scientists also compared the musicians to peers in two other groups: 19 children in a community sports program, and, as a control group, 21 children who were not involved in any specific after-school programs. “There has been a long suspicion that music practice has a beneficial effect on human behavior. But this study proves convincingly that the effect is real,” said Antonio Damasio, University Professor and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute. “We have documented longitudinal changes in the brains of the children receiving music instruction that are distinct from the typical brain changes that children that age would develop,” Habibi said. “Our findings suggest that musical training is a powerful intervention that could help children mature emotionally and intellectually.”

Emily Gersema University of South Carolina

HEAT ON THE

AS WELL AS BEING A CELLIST WITH OPUS ORCHESTRA, AND MORE RECENTLY, MUSIC DIRECTOR FOR HAMILTON OPERATICS 'MARY POPPINS', TIM CARPENTER IS WELL KNOWN TO HAMILTON AND AUCKLAND AUDIENCES THROUGH HIS WORK WITH HAMILTON CIVIC CHOIR AND ST MATTHEWS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. Timothy has recently gained his Masters of Music in conducting with first class honours and holds a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music in Cello with Distinction, a Bachelor of Music from the University of Waikato and an Honours degree in performance organ from the University of Auckland. A former member of the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra and the New Zealand Youth Choir, he is currently a member of Voices New Zealand. As well as at University, Timothy has attended conducting master classes overseas and worked with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In the past he has conducted the Auckland Youth Orchestra, OPUS Chamber Orchestra, the Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra and directed the orchestras at St Kentigern Collegiate.

Currently, Timothy is Director of Vocal and Choral Music at St Paul’s Collegiate in Hamilton and Musical Director of Hamilton Civic Choir. He also works as a freelance accompanist, vocal coach and is guest conductor with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra, St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra, the Devonport Chamber Orchestra, Bach Musica NZ and Opera Otago.

'YOW' - YOUTH ORCHESTRAS WAIKATO STARTS IN FEBRUARY 2018. THIS WILL BE LED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: COMMUNITY, RUPERT'DCRUZE AND WE ARE THRILLED TO HAVE APPOINTED TIM AS CONDUCTOR OF THE SENIOR YOUTH ORCHESTRA.

CONDUCTOR

TIM CARPENTER

MYTHBUSTING THE ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE MYTH #1: IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE You can attend one of our concerts for about the same amount of money as it takes to buy lunch or take in a movie. (join a Friends list and the tickets are discounted even further. And several of our concerts each year are admission by koha.) MYTH #2: I WON’T GET THE SEATS I WANT Friends have priority seating. Whilst we generally have ‘any seat’ admission, at some of our venues you can have your seat assigned when you purchase a ticket. MYTH #3: MY WEEKLY SCHEDULE IS ALREADY TOO HECTIC Some of our concerts are only an hour long. And they happen on different days at different times (usually over weekends). Better still, we almost always have tickets for sale pre-concert so you can decide at the last minute. MYTH #4: I WON’T KNOW WHEN TO CLAP Clap whenever you feel moved to (although best not in the middle of a piece of music!). We have over 200 musicians who love to play their hearts out for you, and your applause means everything to them. When in doubt, wait for others around you to clap and join in! MYTH #5: PEOPLE WEAR EVENING GOWNS AND TUXEDOS TO CONCERTS. It’s true you may see some people in their finery occasionally. But you’ll also see blue jeans and suits and everything in between. As a general rule, “business casual” is always a safe bet. We invite you to dress comfortably, because, after all, we’re all here for the music, and most times, there’s enough formal dress from the musicians anyway! MYTH #6: I’LL NEED A DEGREE IN MUSIC TO APPRECIATE IT Do you have to be a gourmet chef to enjoy a fantastic meal? You don’t need to know the music on the program to have a meaningful experience. Our hosts at the Friends desk can provide you with all of the need to know facts. And our programme (downloadable from our website in advance, or sold at the door at each concert) also contains interesting trivia about the music, composers and guest artist.

MYTH #7: ORCHESTRAS CATER ONLY TO WEALTHY, OLDER ADULTS. We want to delight all segments of the population and so our concerts appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds, from lifelong fans to young music students to casual listeners. And because we have three Orchestras who all do different things, there’s something for everyone. Children are welcome (and always no-cost admission) at all of our concerts (other than our Education concerts which is especially for school children and carries a small charge). We also have activity packs at the Friends desk if you are bringing a fidgeter! MYTH #8: I DON’T NEED TO PRE-BOOK TICKETS Don’t count on it. Some of our concerts sell out quickly. It's easy to ensure you'll get a great spot because we sell tickets to all our seated events online and at the box office. MYTH #9: THE ORCHESTRA IS COMPRISED OF AMATEUR MUSICIANS. Our community orchestras sure are - that's TWSO, Rusty Players, and our Youth Orchestra. Opus Orchestra and OCTavo ensemble have contracted musicians who are all accomplished professionals. Most live and work in our community, teaching music and playing with other ensembles. And all our orchestras are bursting with passionate, talented, committed musicians whatever their playing level. MYTH #10: I WON’T BE ABLE TO SOCIALIZE WITH FRIENDS Come early or stay late and make an evening of it! A concert is a great excuse to have an uplifting experience with a friend or a romantic evening with that special someone.

OFTEN REGARDED AS 'NOT MY KIND OF THING', HERE'S TEN REASONS WHY A NIGHT AT THE ORCHESTRA MIGHT BE JUST THE TICKET!

UPCOMING EVENTS

More details and bookings: www.orchestras.org.nz

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

Glenice& JohnGallagher Foundation