Making music in Rotorua

Posted on April 15, 2012 by ryanyouens

It is always fun gathering at the beginning of a weekend with a new group of people and by the end of it presenting a concert of great music. That was the case this weekend at another Bay of Plenty Music School.

Combined orchestras performing "Westside Story"

Combined orchestras performing "Westside Story"

Combined orchestras and choir performing "A Te Tarakihi"

I had a wonderful group of players, we worked hard and had fun putting the music together.

At the informal concert on Saturday night we performed the crowd pleasers:

Prokofiev – Triumphal March from ‘Peter and the Wolf’
Barry Gray – Thunderbirds

On the Sunday concert we performed:

Khachaturian – Armenian Dances
Ryan Youens – Bubble
Rossini – William Tell Overture (Allegro Vivace)
Bernstein/Sondheim - West Side Story (combined with orchestra)
Trad. – A Te Tarakihi (combined with orchestra and choir)

It was a pleasure to work with fellow conductors Peter Watts and Peter Thomas - thanks for your support. Thanks to my brilliant wind orchestra players and to those who organised the very successful weekend.

BOP music school hits Rotorua!

Posted on March 22, 2012 by ryanyouens

The Bay of Plenty Music School is about to make some music once again!

This year the school is happening between April 13th to 15th in Rotorua. It is an opportunity for choral, orchestral and band musicians to work on some fantastic repertoire in a relaxed environment.

I conducted there last year and it really is a wonderful weekend, meeting some great people, eating some great food and making some fantastic music together.

This year Peter Watts is conducting the choir, Peter Thomas the symphony and chamber orchestras and myself the wind orchestra (concert band/symphonic band…).

In the wind orchestra we will be working on:

Rossini – William Tell Overture
Prokofiev – Triumphal March from ‘Peter and the Wolf’
Ryan Youens – Bubble
Bernstein/Sondheim - West Side Story, ‘selections’
Khachaturian – Armenian Dances
Barry Gray – Thunderbirds
Philip Norman – The Ballad of Settler McGee
Kamen – Robin Hood Prince of Thieves Suite

It should be another very enjoyable weekend finishing with a concert on Sunday afternoon. If you are interested in attending I would love to see you there. Enrollments need to be in by Monday 2nd April so visit the music school website and download the information and enrollment details.

2011 through the eyes of a blog

Posted on December 30, 2011 by ryanyouens

And just like that, another year is gone! Here is a look at my posts for the year.

The blogging year started in March with my favourite book arriving, “Behind Bars”, which I preordered in 2010. It is definitely the most used book on my shelf! I then talked about two approaching projects:

In April I introduced my new work, “blimp”, and reviewed two projects – a song I helped a friend create and my work at the BOP music school:

May was a busy month, so in June I talked about what I had been up to – writing 31 microscores and the premiere of “blimp”:

In July I posted the video I worked on with Sideways Productions:

48 hours to say “Goodbye Gilbert”

In August and September I covered my involvement in the KBB Music Festival and some composition tutorials that I held in Kerikeri:

October was the kick off of the Rugby World Cup here in New Zealand, I talked about my involvement in the opening ceremony and also made a post about what exactly I do when “preparing music” and why you would need someone like me to do it:

December means Christmas and I posted some Christmas carols that I prepared for my students. I also composed a new “holiday” piece for my Christmas post:

Happy New Year everyone, bring on 2012!

KBB Music Festival stretching its legs

Posted on August 27, 2011 by ryanyouens

This year the KBB Music Festival stretched its legs and was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and St Mary’s Church in Parnell. It was one again an absolute hit, even considering it had to move for two days due to the state funeral for Sir Paul Reeves!

I was on the committee this year, so it was great to spend some more time at the festival and help to organise it beforehand. Being the new venue there were a lot of extra things to think about and teething issues but the many thousands of students who came through during the week had a wonderful time and some outstanding music was made.

Part of my role on the committee was to create and maintain the festival website – of course something I know well and enjoy. Check it out!

I had five groups in the festival this year (sorry, no photos this year!), the Diocesan School Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, the Carmel College Orchestra and Chamber Orchestras and the Kristin School Symphonia. They all did very well and I look forward to another good year at the festival next year.

Great company, excellent food … and some music

Posted on April 26, 2011 by ryanyouens

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of conducting at the Bay of Plenty Music School, held for the second year in Tauranga. Check out my previous post if you’d like some more info about the music school.

It was a really fantastic weekend. The wind orchestra players (my group) were really keen to do some hard work, loved the selection of music, were really positive and after the 13 hours of rehearsal arose to present a really tight and energetic performance on the Sunday afternoon.

Rehearsing the massed item, Handel's "Zadok the Priest".

Timpani anyone?

The (very good!) horns.

Peter Thomas rehearsing the combined orchestra item, "Danse Macabre" by Saint-Saëns.

Conducting the wind orchestra, possibly "October" by Eric Whitacre.

David Squire conducting the choir.

The choir, in fine form.

Peter Thomas conducting the string orchestra in Elgar's "Serenade for Strings".

Conducting my section of the massed item, Handel's "Zadok the Priest".

David Squire conducting his section of Handel's "Zadok the Priest".

So, where is it next year? Rotorua! Interested in going? Stay tuned in to their website and I’ll see you there.

About to bop at the BOP Music School

Posted on March 24, 2011 by ryanyouens

This year the Bay of Plenty Music School is in Tauranga from the 15th to the 17th of April.

“This will be the 42nd year for the Bay of Plenty Music School which is run with the assistance of the University of Waikato. It caters for choral, orchestral and band musicians of all levels, providing a unique learning and working opportunity in a relaxed atmosphere under the guidance of experienced conductors and section leaders.”

I am very pleased to be conducting the wind orchestra and working alongside Peter Thomas (symphony and string orchestras) and David Squire (choir).

The Music School has been going since 1966 and is now the largest surviving music school in New Zealand. It moves around towns within the Bay of Plenty region, although this is the second year in a row that it has been held at Tauranga Girls College. This year the repertoires include:

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Danse Macabre (Saint Saens)
Symphony No.1 (Sibelius)

STRING ORCHESTRA
Waipoua for Clarinet & Strings (Gareth Farr)
Serenade for Strings (Elgar)

WIND ORCHESTRA
Overture in B flat (Caesar Giavannini)
October (Eric Whitacre)

CHOIR
Neckereien (Johannes Brahms)
Turot Eszik A Cigany (Zoltan Kodaly)

Entries are still open and they are looking for more players (especially string players). The entry fee is a wonderfully affordable price for a fantastic weekend of music. So, get enrolled - you have until Friday April 1.

Interested in finding out more about the Bay of Plenty region? Visit the tourism site here, or the Wikipedia site here.

2010 through the eyes of a blog

Posted on December 31, 2010 by ryanyouens

It is December 31 and I just wondered “what exactly has happened this year?”

So through the eyes of this blog, let’s have a look. We’ll start with January and the tail end of our South America trip, along with the workshopping and recording of my music in Brazil.

January 4th Leg Four – Argentina to Paraguay to Brazil
January 11th Leg Five – Rio de Janeiro to Paraty to Auckland
January 12th A day with Sphaera

After spending too many hours hunting down good repertoire for my school orchestras, in February I explored the efforts of conducting. I also set up my newsletter with MailChimp.

February 20th Conducting – 90% perspiration, 10% exhilaration
February 26th Automating the monthly issue

It was a plentiful month of posts in March, many on great discoveries I recently made but also highlighted a new piece, Picture for Emily, for my niece.

March 14th Sibelius First – if you’re so inclined
March 15th Moana Ataahua programme launched
March 16th Picture for Emily – aiming for the small market
March 16th Scoring Avatar
March 18th My indispensables
March 19th If Lake Taupo was a piece of music, what would it sound like?

In April it was all about preparing Moana Ataahua for its massive premiere at the ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival.

April 24th Moana Ataahua set to ERUPT in May (article from SOUNZ)
April 28th Moana Ataahua, the rehearsals begin

I explored digital music stands in May, how they compare and how I wanted one. Do I still want one now? That is another post!

May 15th Digital music stands, hook me up – Music Pad, Music Reader, eStand

I summed up the Moana Ataahua premiere in June and did a very popular post on music apps for your iOS devices.

June 1st Moana Ataahua, the premiere
June 2nd iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps for the music professional

It was great to see plenty of music getting performed through July.

July 12th Wild Daisies premiere
July 18th Breathe In, Breathe Out – a concert of overtures and finales
July 27th SoundCloud, move your music
July 29th Three pieces performed by Brazil’s Sphaera Ensemble

The Auckland schools orchestra festival happened in August, so did some pondering on music theory.

August 27th Sounds great! I want it, I want it now
August 30th KBB Music Festival 2010, thumbs up
August 31st Music theory, do we need it or not?

Spent a fantastic few days in Wellington in September recording Rakaia with the NZSO. Also, Rhian Sheehan’s amazing score for The Cult, which I helped out with, won best score!

September 9th More iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad apps for the music professional
September 20th The Cult wins at Qantas Film and Television Awards
September 23rd NZSO/SOUNZ Readings 2010

In November I did a three part post looking at music printing, engravers, copyists and how things are changing. I also hooked up Sibelius users with some great resources!

November 29th So, you’re a Sibelius user?
November 30th Music printing, a journey for engravers (part 1 of 3)
November 30th Music copying and confusion (part 2 of 3)
November 30th Changing times for music preparers (part 3 of 3)

As you would expect, I got festive in December but also looked at a new feature for sounz.org.nz.

December 7th A Christmas wish list for composer-musicians
December 24th SOUNZ moves forward, again
December 24th Merry Christmas and very best wishes for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!

A Christmas wish list for composer-musicians

Posted on December 7, 2010 by ryanyouens

It is that time of the year again and your family and friends are most probably asking for ideas of what to get you for Christmas.

Here are my top ideas for all composer-musicians:

SoundCloud gift voucher – SoundCloud is one of the most valuable online resources for composers and musicians. To really unleash its power you need to go premium and even better, get someone to gift you a subscription.

“How to Write for Percussion: a comprehensive guide to percussion composition” – Percussion is always a challenging group of instruments to write for properly – this book in absolutely incredible and an essential resource. It was given to me by EJ Dobson, get it on Amazon here.

Mollard conducting batons – Most composer-musicians will conduct their music, many twilight in conducting further. Mollard batons are absolutely supreme, I have several – they will even engrave your name on it.

Evernote subscription – Every composer-musician has so many ideas to remember and projects to oversee, with Evernote you can now remember everything!! Gift a subscription here.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra subscription (or your local orchestra) – Every composer-musician needs a regular dose of the finest music in the land. Buy them a subscription or tickets to just one great night (PDF).

iTunes voucher – Not only necessary to top up your stock of Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Mahler and Ligeti, you can purchase all of the incredible iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch apps that are made for professional musicians. In fact, check out my two posts on the best pro music apps to get: the first post here and the second post here.

A gift of time – If you don’t want to spend money why not give a voucher to say you will do all of their jobs and chores for a weekend (or heck, a week) so they can hibernate and write some very fine music. That is priceless!

I hope there is something there to add to your Christmas list. Let me know your best ideas!

Ryan Youens

music composer, copyist, arranger

Tag Archives: conductor