Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Excursion
Last Thursday a group of our Tintern music students took a bus trip to the Melbourne Town Hall to observe a Melbourne Symphony Orchestra rehearsal. We enjoyed watching the orchestra rehearsing two unique pieces. The first piece was Bizet’s Carmen Suite No.1; the second piece was Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.2 with Kristian Chong as the soloist. We were very excited and pleased to hear him play this concerto. Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto is a sparkling and vibrant work full of virtuosity, and is yet lyrical with so many beautiful melodies throughout. Our own symphony orchestra performed the second movement of the Saint-Saëns last year, with Alan Wu as soloist. During the rehearsal, we also had the opportunity to see the Associate Conductor of the MSO, Mr Ben Northey, in action. Mr Northey came to Tintern in June when he ran a workshop session with our own orchestra. Overall, this was an excursion worth remembering, as it not only demonstrated how a professional orchestra rehearses under an experienced conductor, but also, as a School Pianist, I enjoyed being able to see how the solo pianist interacted with the orchestra in an incredibly difficult and dazzling work.
by Steven Zhang, School Pianist 2017