Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Easter 2005
by Huw Morgan

Having completed my first year as Principal Trumpet of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2004, I was advised by my tutor, Mr. John Dickinson (former principal of the Hallé Orchestra) to audition for the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. This orchestra is widely regarded as one of the greatest youth orchestras in the world, drawing from a pan-European base of some of the world’s finest music students aged from 17-26. Indeed, it rivals even the best professional orchestras, and has played under a myriad of world-famous international conductors e.g. Abbado, Ozawa, Haitink etc. as well as accompanying many of the greatest soloists including Vengerov, Argerich and Sophie-Mutter.

Having taken the audition in London (which included 1st movement of either Haydn or Hummel on Bb trumpet plus a list of orchestral excerpts) you can imagine my surprise and delight when I heard I had been accepted as the youngest member of the 2005 orchestra. However, no amount of listening or reading about the orchestra can actually prepare you for the experience of participating in you first sectional or tutti rehearsal. Wow!!! It was truly a wonderful experience...

We were coached in sectionals by Thomas Clamor, assistant principal of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra, and the section included myself, two Germans, a Russian and a Hungarian. Two of the sections are current members of the Berlin Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan Academy, and both have played on tour with the orchestra itself, so I felt privileged to be one of the youngest ever members of the GMJO trumpet section since its founding in 1987!!

Without doubt the orchestra was by far the best I have ever played with, performing Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder and Strauss’ gargantuan Alpine Symphony. The conductor Franz Welser-Most (current principal conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra) was outstanding – a wonderful director who managed to conjure a wonderful array of colours from the orchestra.

Although I experienced a few teething problems of intonation with the rotary trumpet, I soon became accustomed to the German style of brass playing, and by the time of our first concert in the Musikverien I was raring to go. Indeed during the course we were all resident in Vienna, where our rehearsals took place in the new Musikverien underground halls.

Our other concert venues on our whistle-stop tour of Europe included the Barbican Hall, London, Frankfurt’s Alter Oper, the National Auditorium in Madrid and finally the Salzburg Arena. Each venue was magnificent and we played to virtually packed halls throughout (including a concert in Madrid which lasted until 12:30am!!).

Both the course and tour were absolutely magnificent, and we also had ample opportunity to socialise and take in some Viennese landmarks, although these were mainly limited to a selection of restaurants and the hotel bar! All in all it was a phenomenal course – one which I will never forget – bring on 2006!!

Links – www.gmjo.at Official Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Website

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