Wessex Youth Orchestra
The Wessex Youth Orchestra (WYO) is a musical ensemble for students based in the Bournemouth and Poole areas of Dorset, England. Founded in 1971, the WYO is composed of approximately 100 student musicians from grades 6 to 8+. Three annual concerts are performed, mostly in the Wessex Hall at Poole's Lighthouse Centre for the Arts. The orchestra has also performed nationally and internationally in festivals, tours and exchanges, and has been broadcast by the BBC.
Auditions are required for admittance into the orchestra. Strings members require a grade 6 level, and woodwind, brass and percussion members require a grade 7 level. Rehearsals are held in St. Andrew's Hall, on the Constitution Hill site of the Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education.
History
The Wessex Youth Orchestra’s first rehearsal took place back in January 1971, in Poole College main hall in North Road. Originally known as the Poole College Youth Orchestra, its membership consisted of a handful of violins, two cellos, lots of flutes and clarinets, one trumpet and one horn. Back then, activities included choral singing, and there were two opera performances and a concert with dance and movement, as well as chamber music coaching. When the Bournemouth and Poole Colleges became one, the orchestra’s name needed a little adjusting and to reflect the large area from which it was beginning to attract its players, the name “Wessex” came into being. The Orchestra was conducted from its foundation until 2007 by Don Riddell MBE, BA, BMus, LRAM, LTCL who was awarded the MBE for services to the Wessex Youth Orchestra in the Christmas honours list 1999.[1] Don died in 2007, but the orchestra continues to be led by his daughter, Susanna Riddell.
Tours
In the Orchestra's 40 year history there have been a total of 15 tours in Europe. Twelve tours occurred before 1999 under the baton of Don Riddell. There were no tours until 2009, when the WYO traveled to the Black Forest under Susanna Riddell. In 2010, there was a brief tour to Cologne, where the Orchestra performed 3 concerts. In 2012, the WYO travelled to Austria for the Salzburg music festival.
Concerts
The WYO gives 3 main concerts a year: a Christmas show, a summer charity “Prom” (which has raised more than £35,000 for charities) and a main showcase performance, the Gala Concert, which is normally in March. Notable venues have included the Bournemouth Winter Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and the Bournemouth International Centre.
Notable alumni
- Peter Stark. conductor
- Natalie Clein, cellist