On Friday night Bellingen Youth Orchestra (BYO), lead by Ann Phelan and her band of talented tutors, provided the audience with a truly amazing concert experience.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The delivery of Saint Saens “Danse Macabre” by soloist Liam Mallinson and the youth orchestra captivated the audience with its’ eeriness as the graveyard was transforming.
Bellingen High School String Ensemble, with Liam Mallinson playing the solo viola part, delighted all with “Oblivertango”, free arranged after Astor Piazzola by Mei Wei Lim.
The Acacia Quartet (from Sydney) delighted all with the brilliant compositions composed for String Quartet by our very own HSC students. How clever are the youth of today!
Magical moments were truly felt as Bellingen Youth Orchestra with the Acacia Quartet, Brisbane Birralee Voices, Raleigh Public School Choir, Valla Singers, and Indigenous Leader and Soloist, Michael Jarret, combined to bring Paul Jarman’s composition “Wuuban Barri” to Life. Sung in the Gumbaynggirr Language and under the baton of Paul Jarman.
The cultural significance of combining the Gumbaynggirr language into orchestral music and then played and sung so brilliantly by youth brought many in the audience to tears. It was so incredibly moving! A true blending of two such different cultures to be enjoyed and cherished by people from all cultures. This was reconciliation at its ultimate.
Words from an audience member Linda Dalton
“Bellingen Music Festival’s concert on Friday was one of those rare and wonderful events that people remember for years to come and rejoice each time they think of it,” Linda said.
“The performance of 'Wuubanbarri' - a work created by Paul Jarman, commissioned by the festival organisers for the Bellingen Youth Orchestra and sung in the Gumbaynggirr language by the Voices of Birralee children’s choir and Michael Jarrett was a seminal moment in Bellingen’s history.
“It showed what extraordinary things are possible when talented, generous, determined people combine forces.
“Bellingen audiences are generous and I’ve seen standing ovations before but i don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people with tears in their eyes or hugging their neighbour or felt such an outpouring of joy and good will as I did on Saturday night. It was really something.”
