IYWO Concert
The International Youth Wind Orchestra of the 2005 WASBE Conference was made up of particularly talented young musicians who had emerged from a difficult selection process. They were under the direction of Swiss conductor Felix Hauswirth, who conducted the first half of the concert, and Japanese composer and conductor Yasuhide Ito, who conducted the second half.
The concert started with Al Fresco by Karel Husa, a mature and expressive work and without any doubt one of the best compositions featured at this WASBE World Conference. The orchestra gave a lively and enjoyable performance of the work under the steady baton of conductor Hauswirth. The work was followed by the well-crafted Concerto for Brass Quintet and Wind Orchestra by Friyes Hidas, which gave the players of the Boston Brass another occasion to show their outstanding skills. Again, good playing went together with fine conducting, leading to some exceptional moments, such as the ending of the second movement.
The second half had an Asian repertoire theme. Yasuhide Ito took over the baton and started with Korean Dances by Chang Su Koh. This interesting, colourful work, whose scoring raised a few questions, proved to be a particular challenge for the orchestra and the conductor, particularly with relation to rhythmic precision. Sinfonia Singapuriana, the next composition, was written by Yasuhide Ito for this WASBE world conference. This effective composition drew upon several elements of Singaporian culture, as mMestro Ito had explained in the open rehearsal session some days ago. It turned out to be a very effective work, combining explosive, static gestures with flowing lines, sometimes leading into interesting accelerandi. Curiously enough, some pentatonic motives, which one would associate most with Asian music, did not entirely fit into the whole conception of the piece. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable work of music, whose performance was met with warm applause. The concert came to a close with Get Well, Maestro, written again by conductor Ito and dedicated to the former conductor of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Frederick Fennell, who passed away in December 2004.
All in all, it was a pleasure to attend such a fine concert given by gifted and visibly-motivated young people. Their achievement is all the more remarkable considering that they had only a few days rehearsal time, as artistic director Glenn D. Price pointed out.
Egil Gundersen Awarded Honorary Life Membership
At the second Annual General Meeting at the recent WASBE Conference in Singapore, retiring Treasurer Egil Gundersen of Norway was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in WASBE. Outgoing President Dennis Johnson spoke about Egil's long and dedicated service to WASBE, for which Egil received a long standing ovation. Egil served as Treasurer from 1981–83 and 1985–2005 (he is still doing the job until we can get the bank accounts transferred). His farewell message will appear in the September 2005 WASBE Newsletter.
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra Concert
Douglas Bostock and the TOKWO played to a sold-out house to bring a musical close to the 12th WASBE Conference. Our regular sessions reporter during the week, Singapore's Tony Makarome, presents his impressions of the concert and why it was a “candy store” experience.
©2005 WASBE