TRIORCA APPEARS in NOVI SAD, SERBIA

Triorca, the new international youth orchestra of young musicians from England, Serbia and Germany, gives its next performance on 15 th December at The Synagogue in Novi Sad, Serbia . Following its debut in Koblenz, Germany in July, the young players reassemble under the baton of Artistic Director, Nicolas Daniel to prepare a programme of music by Shostakovich , Bizet and a new work by the young Serbian composer, Ana Kazimic , especially written for Triorca.

‘Triorca’ is a whole project about communication, inclusion, and the very meaning of music. It aims to help young musicians from England, Serbia and Germany share their experiences and different cultural backgrounds, learning together and from each other, using the international language of music. Artists will benefit from culturally distinct approaches to developing professional ensemble playing and performance and lasting friendships between the young musicians from different nationalities have already been formed.

The concert at the synagogue on Saturday 15 December is the climax of a residential music course for the orchestra’s 60 players to be held in Novi Sad from 9 to 15 December. Under Nicholas Daniel’s expert direction, the orchestra’s young players will rehearse together, developing their orchestral musicianship and experience
Triorca’s orchestral programme begins with the vivid Spanish tones of Bizet’s suite from his opera, Carmen, and it ends with a mighty Russian work of the twentieth century, Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony, a real tour de force for the young players. The third work in the programme is the world premiere of a new work by the 27-year old Serbian composer, Ana Kazimic, who responded to a commission from Triorca to produce a new 10 minute work for symphony orchestra. She was asked to write a piece that would appeal to and motivate the young musicians of Triorca and help them to forge new relationships by playing together, bridging the boundaries of nationality and culture through music.

The result is a suite called Balcando, made up of five movements, four dances and one song, whose title reflects the composer’s references to traditional Balkan music. Of the piece Ana says: “Balkan is a natural connection between East and West, so my intention was to make that relation in my composition. Beside the music, I found the inspiration in folklore dances which I used to dance and which form a rich pallet of different styles from these territories. As a dancer, I enjoy the elegance and breadth of the western waltz. The main idea and great compositional challenge for me was how to make Balkan folklore and the western waltz dance together.”

She adds: “All the time while composing I was thinking about our Triorca musicians, trying to make the music attractive and inspiring for young musicians. I hope I reached at least a part of the energy that such an orchestra has got and I am sure that my use of Balkan rhythms and, especially their combination with waltz will be exciting challenge for the young performers. I can’t wait to hear them playing!”

Ana Kazimic is herself a graduate of the Isidor Bajic Music School in Novi Sad whose young students form part of Triorca. She is a pianist, singer and dancer and is currently studying for her doctorate in composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. She has written works for choir, for piano and for chamber groups and she has recently written a ballet which is soon to be premiered.

Ana says: “To connect people from three countries with music is a really worthwhile idea, but when the participants are young musicians especially, it cannot be resisted. In my opinion the cooperation between young musicians that is afforded by Triorca and, particularly, the possibility given to young composers to write for young performers, gives new energy to the life of music.”

Triorca is made up of musicians from the Landesjugendorchester and Landesmusikgymnasium, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, Norfolk County Youth Orchestra, Norfolk, England and Isidor Bajic Music School, Novi Sad, Serbia. For this concert the orchestra has 20 players from Serbia, 23 from England and 18 from Germany.

The Triorca project has been funded with a grant of 193,000 Euros from the EU Cultural Programme (2007-2013) through the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels. It is built around the long-standing twinning relationships of Norfolk and Norwich with Koblenz and Novi Sad.