New Brunswick Youth Orchestra showcased their talent at Carnegie Hall

Jumping off the bus in the Big Apple, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra took on Carnegie Hall for the first time in 20 years.

“When I walked onto the stage, I really just I couldn’t believe it was real and I think I’m speaking for all of NBYO members too because everybody that I’ve talked to, it just seems surreal,” said 15-year-old, Skylar Brigley-Byers who plays the violin.

“We can’t even believe that it’s actually happened.”

The group spent last week in New York City. They got the opportunity to sightsee, rehearse, and of course have a main performance at Carnegie Hall.

“The acoustics and just the reverberannce of the whole hall was… I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” said Brigley-Byers.

“It was also very large. I’d say larger than any other music venue that I’ve ever been to.”

While the experience hasn’t fully settled in yet, the musicians got the chance to experience something that they’ll never forget.

“It was very fun actually,” said 15-year-old Kalvin Rowe who plays the clarinet.

“I was very nervous because it’s Carnegie Hall and you’ve got to live up to its reputation, but I had a lot of fun when I was on stage and definitely during the rehearsal. I got to make memories with people on that stage and it was really exciting.”

NBYO represented not only the province, but the country with their 25-minute time slot. They were the only Canadian group on stage for the Viennese Masters Invitational.

“They did really really good,” said Music Director & Conductor Antonio Delgado. “They were excited and what I liked the best about their performance, our performance, was the energy. The energy was there and they played their hearts out.”

He adds that while it was a great experience, it was also very nerve-racking since some of the best musicians in the world have performed in the same spot.

“It’s a humbling experience, just walking back stage and seeing the pictures and photographs of great conductors and orchestras and artists, its like ‘well I play in this place as well. I have to do my best.’ It’s a humbling experience, but I’m very proud of what we did together with the orchestra,” he said.

The orchestra is made up of 85 youth from across the province, ranging anywhere from 12-years-old to university students.

For Rowe, it was a dream come true and an opportunity that he hopes will open more doors in the future.

“Since I started Sistema when I was 5 or 6, I always wanted to be a musician since and it’s following through,” he said.

“I was extremely nervous going up, especially because I had some solos. I didn’t want to mess those up. Very nervous for those.”

However, he adds that once he started playing he quickly went into his own bubble and is very happy with how he preformed.

Delgado says his best advice for the musicians is to play every performance like they’re at Carnegie Hall, especially because that’s what helped them get there in the first place.

“This event happened because we recorded a video in response to a commercial and we did it with intention to just promote what we do,” he said.

“That resulted in an invitation from this organization that runs the program and they told us that usually they select orchestras by audition and they said ‘you don’t need to send an audition because this video’s your audition. Just say yes or no’ and we said yes.”

He adds that NBYO’s trip to Carnegie Hall is a good example for current and future musicians that preparation, hard work and consistency will lead to amazing outcomes. 

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