Youth Orchestras | Power Play and Team Spirit

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It’s no big secret: I’m always trying to break the reputation of elitism that clings to classical music.



So let’s talk about hockey, our national sport.

Annual hockey registration in a working-class area of ​​Montreal costs around $475 for a 15-year-old.

A friend who is the mother of young hockey players gave me some other figures: you need to count on at least $550 for basic equipment, add tournament fees, and if your child has a lot of talent, a specialized program at a private college will add a good $2,500 to the annual tuition fees.

Registering a teenager with the Mount Royal Youth Orchestra for one year will cost $480. What about the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra? It’s $405, including an intensive weekend of training, accommodation and meals.

Of course, the young musician must arrive with his instrument, but be careful, a musical instrument has an excellent resale value, and it will outlast hockey equipment for a very long time!

Memories for life

Music and hockey have something in common: they become a part of our teenage social life, they imprint emotions and a sense of accomplishment on us.

Now imagine all the memories acquired by the 53 musicians of the Mount Royal Youth Orchestra, between June 19 and 22, when they were invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York. Obviously, this project involved additional expenses for the young members, but the experience was well worth sports tournaments.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEAN MACRAE

The Mount Royal Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall last June

“They have never played better!” exclaims their conductor, Jean MacRae. “The synergy was total, they were proud to be the only representatives from Quebec and Canada invited to this festival of junior orchestras.”

I was able to listen to this 30-minute performance (sorry, the recording that was kindly given to me must remain private!): two works, including an astonishing interpretation of the symphonic poem A Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky. References to fantasy, a cavalcade of witches: a perfect piece to thrill teenagers who are fans of cinema or the Ouija board game.

Deep and solid brass, rapid changes of atmosphere well established, a well channeled feverishness, and for the peaceful end, clarinet and flute solos beautiful enough to make you cry.

The group is preparing to take on another great challenge: a concert as part of the Virée classique, which will be offered free of charge this Saturday at noon, at the Complexe Desjardins.1

The Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra is also on the program at the same location, this Friday at 7:30 p.m.2

Conductor Louis Lavigueur, who has conducted major orchestras and taught at the Conservatoire, has been attached to this training for 38 years, a joy that keeps him young.

As for Jean MacRae, while she has conducted at Carnegie Hall and is now a guest on the OSM Classical Spree, you will never see her conducting a major orchestra, she says so herself. “What I am passionate about is connecting with young people, the exchange of energy,” she explains.

My role is very educational, but above all I have to excite them, offer them epic scenarios to spark their imagination and their play.

Jean MacRae

Violinist born in Victoria, Mme MacRae joined the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in 1987. Settled in Montreal, she joined the Orchestre Métropolitain, in addition to being a freelancer, and it was there that she became interested in the Orchestre des jeunes du mont Royal, which already had several components.

“I conducted sectional rehearsals with the strings, then the relief ensembles, including the intermediate orchestra. When the previous conductor of the large orchestra left, the CA simply offered me the position. I am completely self-taught in conducting: I learned a lot by observing the conductors who conducted me, and by accompanying other musicians, as I also play the piano.”

I ask him if the young people of 2024 have the same attitude as those of 15 years ago. “When they reach the level of the symphony orchestra, they are ready to give their all, to concentrate. But in the new ensembles, among the youngest, we see that concentration is more difficult than before: the isolation created by screens really exists. We must communicate to them the sense of the collective, teach them how to solve problems as a team. You need a common intention when you play, otherwise the music remains a bunch of black spots on a page!”

For his part, Louis Lavigueur is surprised that the level is maintained and that the number of auditions is increasing, while music is taught less than before in our schools.

The musicians in these two youth orchestras are aged 13 to 25. It is rare to mix teenagers and young adults in this way, but Jean MacRae sees only positive aspects in it: “They are all there to learn, they all talk to each other, there is even a bit of spontaneous mentoring.” On this subject, Louis Lavigueur adds: “The young people are linked by instrument family, there is a transmission by osmosis between the new and the more advanced.”

The Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra tours regularly, including one in France in 2023. “The organizers are always surprised by the team spirit we cultivate. Before and after rehearsals, everyone works on setting up the stage, it’s just normal.”

PHOTO FRANÇOIS VINCENT, PROVIDED BY ANNE-MARIE DESBIENS

Members of the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra, 2023-2024 vintage

Some study music, but that’s far from the majority. “The older ones are often studying in a field other than music, but want to continue,” says Jean MacRae. “My first trumpet is starting medicine this year.”

The Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra ensures that the level remains constant in a very simple way: “They have to audition every year to keep their position,” explains Louis Lavigueur. “It’s the best motivation to continue working on their instrument regularly.”

And what do all these young musicians like to play?


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