Sydney Youth Orchestra

If you're new to orchestral music, or if you're wanting to explore it with a little less pomp and ceremony than in that big hall with the fancy sails, seeing the Sydney Youth Orchestra is a good way to do it. The group, many of whose members seem impossibly young for the big sounds they make, were warm and excited, and it was an atmosphere that also let their audience be a bit less formal too. Tonight a toddler near us was smiled at as he asked about the big drum at the back of the stage, while family members happily 'wooo-ed' and cheered after the performance. It's not always what's considered acceptable elsewhere, but it was lovely. The program followed three main pieces, a Saint-Saëns introduction, a Britten piano concerto and a Berlioz symphony after the break, and, while they didn't have too many memorable 'tunes' in them, there was certainly plenty for the players to get their teeth – bows, reeds, strings and other things – into. Conductor Max McBride was a gentle but effective leader (getting that many young people to focus that long is a task in itself) and piano soloist Tamara Anna Cislowska was just clearly having fun. Sure, the sound and the atmosphere is not the same as with the big kids, but that's totally the point.

Sydney Conservatorium Of Music.