SBSYO

What a funny thing SBSYO was;..

SBS Youth Orchestra started in 1989.

Auditions were held in 1988 and having just finished high school, no longer having Sydney Schools to keep me busy – I auditioned.

That is how I became an inaugural member of the SBS Youth Orchestra – on trombone. An experience made special by the brass section but oh so different to anything I’d done before.

Let’s just say our fearless conductor Matthew Krel didn’t really like the brass – in fact there were many times we wondered why we were there at all. He could be brutal with is insults and occasionally they were made funny by his English or accent – thankfully!

In my one lonely year of SBSYO we played some great works including playing Shostakovich at the Town Hall. We played on television. Unfortunately for me everyone else was a more serious musician while I was serious about being a scientist so I quit SBSYO after that year and missed the amazing concerts they’ve done internationally since!

I am now trying to track down any footage or photos of that time. It was an awesome experience to be recorded for TV.