1.4 The online programme 2020-21

the selection process and to communicate the goals of the programme to potential participants, the applicants were now asked to reflect on the extent to which they believed they needed extra support, the extent to which they thought they were able to contribute to Young’s diversity goal, and why they thought they would be a good ambassador of the Young programme and/or of classical music. This additional information on the need for extra support, diversity and ambassadorship was not considered in the selection process in 2020 as there were too few “high-quality” applicants for some of the instrument sections for non-musical indicators to be considered. In 2019 and 2022, answers to the questions and non-musical factors played a role in the selection.

Many young talents from the first group reapplied for Young 2020-21. The team appreciated their enthusiasm, but decided not to select them as they wanted to give the chance to experience the Summer School to as many talented young musicians as possible. In 2020, 72 ‘new’ participants were selected from that year’s 312 applicants. In 2022, 73 participants were selected from 263 applicants. The number of boys and girls were not evenly distributed over the various instrument groups in all years. This is not so much a fault in the selection process, as a reflection of the general and prevalent overrepresentation of girls on strings and the underrepresentation of girls on wind and brass instruments. The participants are well aware of this uneven distribution. For instance, the 15-year-old, only female brass player in the 2022 orchestra thought “that has to change” when she started playing trumpet at a young age and joined an ensemble with only male players.

1.4 THE ONLINE PROGRAMME 2020-21

In ‘normal’ years, selection takes place in spring and the Summer School in August of the same year. The second edition was an exception to the rule due to consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this was therefore the only edition with a complementary online programme before the start of the Summer School. The programme consisted of online masterclasses and Zoom sessions with workshops by United World Colleges.

A total of 428 masterclasses were given by the 35 musicians from the Concertgebouworkest who were involved in Young. The musicians were happy to be involved during the Covid-19-year as they had more time on their hands than usual—the orchestra was neither performing nor travelling. Whereas the 2019 participants had had the opportunity to have a one-on-one masterclass with members of the Concertgebouworkest during the Summer School, in the online programme, each participant was entitled to a maximum of eight online master classes. In these classes, the focus would often be placed on a piece the student was already working on in their music school or conservatory, but it could also be the piece(s) they were preparing for university auditions or for tests at their school of music. The experiences with the digital aspect of the masterclasses varied. Two main challenges appeared to be the quality of the internet connection and the quality of the sound over Zoom (either the tones in the high register did not get transmitted and/or the sound was distorted). This underlined once again the importance of good equipment. Good microphones and headsets are an investment not only for the Concertgebouworkest, but also for the young musicians because it is with this equipment that they will record the music they submit to audition for various conservatories. Additionally, between September 2020 and February 2021, the Young team organised three Zoom sessions, in collaboration with United World Colleges, focused on personal growth (coping with stress and stage fright) and they offered tools to develop participant ambassadorship. Assignments were given in the sessions such as ‘make a one-minute video presenting yourself’ which were to be executed between sessions. In the February session, three videos of 2019 participants were shown as examples of ambassadorship and inspiration.

The Retrospective Survey sent out to the young musicians in July 2021, showed that 6 per cent took one and 94 per cent took more than one online masterclass (lesson) with a Concertgebouworkest musician. Participants rated the classes as enjoyable, calling it a “privilege” and a “great experience” to be able and allowed to work with “top-notch musicians” of an “outstanding orchestra”. Additionally, almost all respondents mentioned that the classes helped them to improve their musical skills. Now that they already knew their teacher and some of the participants, and had seen what Young really was about (the level of playing, the expectations and the overall atmosphere), they also believed that the classes made them better prepared for the Summer School. Asked if they believed that the Concertgebouworkest should offer online classes to participants before the start of every future Young Summer School, the young musicians answered unanimously: YES!