New Brunswick Youth Orchestra

New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO)
Also known as	L’orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick (OJNB)
Origin	Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Genres	Classical
Years active	1965 – Present
Labels	Independent
Website	www.nbyo-ojnb.com

New Brunswick Youth Orchestra logo

The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, NBYO for short, (French: L’orchestre des jeunes du Nouveau-Brunswick, OJNB) is a youth orchestra based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Founded in 1965, the orchestra has approximately 80 members (from ages 11–24) from across the province. The NBYO tours New Brunswick each year, and occasionally performs in other countries, funded by a Board of Directors as well as private, municipal, and provincial grants.

The current conductor of the NBYO is Antonio Delgado.

History

The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra was founded in 1965 under Philip W. Oland, who was the president of the New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra (NBSO) at that time. The NBYO eventually became New Brunswick's main orchestra at the NBSO's discontinuation in 1968. The NBYO gave its first performance at Woodstock, New Brunswick on October 22, 1966.

The NBYO went on to give many other performances, including musical presentations at Expo 67 and the National Arts Centre. It also participated in several festivals such as the Dominion Centenary Festival of Music for Senior Orchestras, the Festival of International Youth Orchestras, and the Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras.

Conductors

Principal conductors

The NBYO's first principal conductor was Dr. Stanley Saunders. At the NBYO's fortieth anniversary celebration at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, he was the guest conductor for a string selection. A chronological list of NBYO conductors can be found below:

• 1965–1968 – Stanley Saunders
• 1968–1969 – Kelsey Jones
• 1969–1970 – Clayton Hare
• 1970–1974 – Stanley Saunders
• 1974–1975 – Kenneth Elloway
• 1975–1982 – Rodney McLeod
• 1982–1983 – James Mark
• 1983–1987 – Rodney McLeod
• 1988–1989 – Nurhan Arman
• 1989–1990 – Paul Pulford
• 1990–1994 – Paul Campbell
• 1994–2010 – James Mark
• 2010–present - Antonio Delgado

Assistant conductors

Assistant conductors of the NBYO include:

• Bruce Holder

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Guest conductors

The NBYO has had several guest conductors, including:

• Alexander Brott
• Oskar Danon
• Carolyn Davies
• Brian Ellard
• Victor Feldbrill
• Wing Ho
• Paul Pulford
• Jánós Sándor
• Stanley Saunders
• Douglas Payson Sturdevant
• Jean-Philippe Tremblay
• Antonio Delgado

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Instruments

The NBYO contains many musical instruments regularly used in an orchestra, but may include some other instruments not usually used, including bass clarinets, saxophones, and cor anglais. The current (2010–2011) NBYO is composed of the following musical instruments:

Woodwind instruments 1 piccolo 3-4 flutes 3 oboes 5 clarinets 2 bassoons

Brass instruments 4 horns 4 trumpets 3 trombones 1 tuba

Percussion instruments 4 percussion 1 keyboard[A]

String instruments 23 violins 6 violas 11 violoncellos 3 contrabasses

Special Performances

The NBYO has performed in the following places:

• 2003 - Carnegie Hall, New York, New York, USA
• 2004 - St. Croix River, St. Croix, New Brunswick, Canada
• 2005 - Auditorium Niccolò Paganini, Parma, Italy
• 2007 - Forbidden City, Beijing, China
• 2011 - Golden Hall of the Musikverein, Vienna, Austria

Forbidden City Tour 2007

In summer of 2007, the NBYO performed at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, thanks to the help of Dr. Francis Pang, a Chinese businessman. The orchestra recorded a CD, Forbidden City Tour, under the direction of Richard Gibson, a music professor at the Université de Moncton. Guest performers included: Roger Lord, a critically acclaimed pianist; Samantha Robichaud, a provincially renowned fiddler; and the Saint John String Quartet.

Musikfreunde - Friends of Music Tour 2011

July 2011, the NBYO won 1st place in the category ‘Symphony Orchestra’ with the highest distinction awarded by the judges, ‘Outstanding Success’, at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival and Competition in Vienna, Austria. The NBYO was invited to give the finale performance at the Gala Winners’ Concert on July 5, 2011 at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, the home of the Vienna Philharmonic and one of the most famous stages in the world. The NBYO received a standing ovation for its performance.

The Musikfreunde - Friends of Music Tour also included NBYO performances at Dorothea Porsche Hall in Salzburg, in a 16th century stable, in the Village of Poetsching, in the beautiful region of Bergenland just outside of Vienna and at Parish Church St. Margareta, in the village of Berndorf, Austria.

Awards

• 2008 East Coast Music Award: Won – Classical Recording of the Year (Forbidden City Tour)
• 2008 – Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award for outstanding orchestral achievements
• 2010 - TD Canada Trust Award - Arts Organization of the Year
• 2011 - East Coast Music Association. Nominated - DVD of the Year (live performance DVD 'Blues on the Boulevard')
• 2011 - Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Competition (Vienna, Austria) - 1st place in the category ‘Symphony Orchestra’ with the highest distinction of ‘Outstanding Success’
• 2011 - Music New Brunswick. Nominated - Classical Artist of the Year

Discography

New Brunswick Youth Orchestra discography

Releases
↙Studio albums	3

Studio albums

• 2003: Première
• 2005: Virtuoso Italia 2005
• 2007: Forbidden City Tour

Notes

1. ^{^} There is no specific audition held for the keyboard; it is performed by a member of the NBYO with proficiency in playing the piano.

External links

• NBYO/OJNB Official Website
• New Brunswick Youth Orchestra at The Canadian Encyclopedia