International Youth Orchestras Bridges

The IYOB project is a collaboration between young musicians in the UK, Los Angeles, USA, Australia and South Africa. The UK-based Waverley Ensemble (a UK charity) is organizing and running the venture as a whole.,. It will bring together young musicians from the UK USA and South Africa, to form an international orchestra, directed by Alexandra Walker. The young musicians will come together to tour in South Africa in July 2024. . The Waverley Ensemble is partnering with the West Coast Youth Orchestra, the Stellenbosh Youth Orchestra and bringing students from the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra and from the ARCO project to form an international youth orchestra.

The IYOB project will be a fun, engaging, creative experience for all the young people involved. It will give them insight into the world of the professional musician and show them an additional level on which to experience music, through playing with new people in a different country. In the UK, the Waverley Ensemble has a proven track record of bringing high-quality classical music to a diverse audience. We seek to draw on this experience to reach out to diverse young musicians for the IYOB project. By bringing young people from different backgrounds and nationalities together, we will encourage good social skills and nurture the ability to work alongside others, regardless of background or nationality. This is an essential workplace skill in music or any other industry.

They will perform concerts around the Stellenbosh area.

This project will draw on young peoples’ strengths to help them become great performers with self-confidence. From our experience as orchestra directors, we know that positive encouragement is the key to success, and we will be following this principle in the IYOB project. Moreover, this project will encourage participants to aim high and maintain high expectations of themselves.

A long-term goal of the project is social mobility. The orchestra will be travelling around South Africa by air and by bus. This will provide the young musicians with the opportunity to experience the country and its culture first hand, as well as playing at the performance venues. Through international travel, we hope to show them a different view of the world. We will gently introduce the idea that there are possibilities beyond the life they usually experience, generating ambition and balancing it with respect for others. More information about IYOB

https://www.waverleyensemble.com/iyob