Gwen James reflects on another successful NYOW Residency

I think that it’s safe to say that everyone had a brilliant time on the NYOW tour 2015. The atmosphere was electric through the whole course as everybody took part and threw themselves into every challenge that came before them. 

The music-making this year was phenomenal. Given the opportunity to work on pieces such as The Rite of Spring under Paul Daniel’s baton was something that will stay with me for ever. The reaction from the audience at each venue was incredible, especially at St David’s Hall where almost every audience member stood on their feet applauding us. As we can see from the reviews – the hard work paid off! Apart from St David’s Hall I really enjoyed the experience of playing to a sold-out audience at Hereford Cathedral, even if it wasn’t the easiest venue to perform at! 

However, music wasn’t the only side to the course. The social aspect was brilliant – we are “virtuosic celebrators” as Paul Daniel said, laughing with us one morning following the previous night’s antics. My favourite events that had been organised by the Welfare team must have been the Tutor’s Evening, the Twmpath and the Fancy Dress Competition where everyone got involved and had a great laugh, even if the dancing was atrocious by the majority of us!! 

All in all we had a brilliant course, with memories made that will stay with us for a long, long time! A massive thank you to everyone who made it happen!

Hedydd reflects on her time with NYOW 2015 / Hedydd yn crynhoi ei hamser gyda CGIC 2015

I can’t believe NYOW 2015 has come and gone!  I have to admit, when I first heard what the repertoire was I was a bit sceptical but I have fallen in love with The Rite of Spring. I can’t believe a youth orchestra has played one of the most influential works of the 20^th century. 

Last year the repertoire was challenging due to the fact that it was very physically demanding, especially for the strings. This year the music was mentally challenging due to the constantly changing time signature and various other challenges. Nobody could afford to ‘switch off’. Everybody had to be on the ball.  My favourite ‘bits’ in the Rite were the (if I do say so myself) gorgeous viola solos!

Paul Daniel was fantastic to work with. He was engaging and had some bizarre analogies for the sounds he wanted from us – somehow those analogies worked! 

I probably should say that my favourite part of the residency is playing the viola [insert viola joke here], but the best aspect of the course is the social side.   It was great to catch up with old friends and making some new ones too. Although we don’t see each other very often, we are thick as thieves on the course. I’m always surprised that we have things to talk about after 2 weeks of each other’s company.

I would like to thank everybody on the Nash for making this course so enjoyable. I’m so sad that my time with NYOW is nearly coming to an end.

Dydw i methu credu bod CGIC 2015 wedi gorffen yn barod! Mae’n rhaid i mi gyfadde’, roeddwn i dipyn bach yn siomedig pan wnes i ddarganfod beth roeddwn ni’n chwarae ar y cwrs.  Ond pan wnes i ddod yn fwy cyfarwydd â’r Rite of Spring roeddwn i’n dwli’r darn.  Dydw i methu credu bod cerddorfa ieuenctid wedi chwarae un o’r darnau mwyaf dylanwadol yr ugeinfed ganrif.

Blwyddyn ddiwethaf roedd y gerddoriaeth yn anodd oherwydd yr oedd yn heriol yn gorffol, yn enwedig i’r llinynnau. Blwyddyn yma roedd y gerddoriaeth yn heriol yn feddyliol oherwydd y newid arwydd amser a.y.y.b.  Doedd neb yn gallu fforddio ymlacio. Roedd rhaid i bawb canolbwyntio.  Fy hoff ‘bits’ yn y Rite oedd (dydw i ddim yn rhagfarnllyd - honest!)  yr unawdau hyfryd y fiolas!

Roedd gweithio gyda Paul Daniel yn ardderchog. Roedd e’n llawn egni ac er roedd e’n defnyddio cyfatebiaethau od tu hwnt i gael y sŵn cywir oddi wrthon ni, roedden nhw’n gweithio.

Dylwn i ddweud fy hoff agwedd o’r cwrs i’w chwarae’r fiola, ond i mi mae’r cymdeithasu yn ennill. Ar ôl blwyddyn hir, roeddwn i’n joio dal fyny efo hen ffrindiau a hefyd creu ffrindiau newydd.   Er dydyn ni ddim yn gweld ein gilydd yn aml rydyn ni yn agos tu hwnt. Dwi wastad yn synnu rydyn ni efo pethau i siarad amdano ar ôl treulio pythefnos efo’n gilydd.

Hoffwn i ddiolch pawb ar y Nash am wneud y cwrs yn un bleserus. Rydw i’n drist iawn does dim llawer o amser ar ôl efo fi gyda’r Nash.

Carolyn Burton yn sgyrsio am ei phrofiad gyda'r 'Nash 2015'

Gwrando ar y radio i 'Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique' yn y Proms wrth i mi ysgrifennu'r blog hon yn ddod ag atgofion gwych yn ôl o gwrs Nash llynedd. Ychydig ddyddiau yn ôl fe es i gyngerdd i glywed 'Dawnsiau Symffonig Rachmaninov' - yn dod ag atgofion yn ôl o'n taith 2013 ym Merlin. Mae Nash 2015 hefyd wedi bod yn anhygoel a dwi'n sicr y byddaf yn gofio llawer o atgofion arbennig ohono yn y flynyddoedd i ddod. Mae wedi bod yn 2 wythnos gwych o gerddoriaeth a gymdeithasu, a dwi'n meddwl bod CGIC 2015 wedi bod fy hoff gwrs dros ben allan o'r 4 mlynedd yr wyf wedi bod yn aelod! (Rwy'n credu fy mod wedi chwarae fwy o nodiadau cywir nag arfer, hefyd!)

Dechreuom i ffwrdd hefo ychydig ddyddiau o ymarferion 'adrannol' - waith caled ond yn werth chweil iawn. Dwi'n teimlo mor lwcus i gael bod yn rhan o adran ffidil 1af lyfli eleni; bod ochr yn ochr â cherddorion talentog a ffrindiau agos a cael y siawns i ddysgu dan hyfforddiant ysbrydoledig Adrian. Nid oes byth eiliad ddiflas yn ein sectionals! Nath Noson Tiwtoriaid dod i ben ddiwedd y ddyddiau cyntaf o Nash, lle cawsom gyfle i fwyta gyda, a diolch i'n tiwtoriaid am eu holl waith caled. Hefyd digwyddodd y 'traddodiad Nash' o fynd am curry ffidil 1af yn Llanbedr am un noson yn ystod y cwrs!

Ni allai'r tîm gwych o staff tŷ wedi gwneud gwaith gwell gofalu amdon ni dros y cwrs preswyl ac maent yn cadw ni'n brysur bob dydd ar ôl ymarferion gyda gweithgareddau cymdeithasol. Mae'r rhain yn amrywio o helfa drysor a nos cabaret i 'Gemau Olympaidd Nash', lle nad oedd y tîm Oren (fy nhîm) wedi neud yn rhy dda... Fel bob amser, oedd 'noson gwisg ffansi' yn llwyddiant fawr ac yn bendant fy hoff weithgaredd o'r cwrs! Roedd amrywiaeth go iawn o ymdrechion a llwythi o wisgoedd creadigol (rhai yn well na'i gilydd!) - Y thêm ar gyfer y flwyddyn hon yn 'La Peri'. Penderfynnodd fy nghrŵp o ffrindiau fynd fel 'peris' (tylwyth teg) ac mi wnaethom ni creu adenydd allan o cardfwrdd a dod o hyd i ddeunydd Arabaidd o siopau elusennol Llanbed i droi i mewn i headscarves!


Mae cael y cyfle i weithio ochr yn ochr ag arweinyddion byd-enwog yn un o'r pethau gorau am Nash, ac fe wnes i fwynhau chwarae dan faton Paul Daniel eleni. Mae'r rhan 'daith' o'r cwrs hefyd yn aruthrol gan yr ydym yn cael y cyfle i deithio ar draws y wlad ac yn chwarae mewn lleoliadau ysblennydd. Fe wnes i fwynhau chwarae yn yr holl leoliadau, yn enwedig Eglwys Gadeiriol Henffordd (cynulleidfa llawn am y 3 Choirs Festival) ac wrth gwrs yn chwarae yn fy lleoliad cartref Neuadd PJ, Bangor. Cefais 'buzz' o chwarae am 'cynulleidfa gartref' gyda'r Nash yn Bangor, ac mae hynny'n sicr yn noson y byddaf byth yn anghofio. Mae bob amser yn hyfryd i chwarae i fyny yn y gogledd a chael teulu, ffrindiau, athrawon cerdd ayyb yn dod i wylio ni! Eleni, rwyf hefyd wedi mwynhau'r cyfle i chwarae yn y 'Ensemblau Cyfansoddwyr' a cefais llawer o hwyl yn gweithio gyda Mark Bowden a'r cyfansoddwyr ifanc. Perfformiodd eu darnau mewn 3 lleoliad ar draws y daith gan gynnwys Llanelli, lleoliad newydd ar gyfer y Nash eleni!

Rydw i wedi sgwennu gormod erbyn hyn, felly ddylwn i stopio... ond beth bynnag mae Nash 2015 wedi bod yn brofiad anhygoel arall ac ni allwn gofyn am ffordd well o dreulio 2 wythnos o fy haf. Ni all geiriau ddisgrifio'r 'buzz' a gewch gan Nash, ond dw i wedi gwneud fy ngorau a gobeithio fydd y lluniau yn helpu ychydig! Rwy'n drist bod rhai o fy ffrindiau agosaf yn gadael eleni (yn enwedig Olivia a Dàire, gan fod yr ydym ni i gyd o Ynys Môn ac wedi tyfu i fyny yn y cylch cerddoriaeth ieuenctid gyda'n gilydd!). O leiaf mae gen i 2 flynedd ar ôl o wneud cais am Nash ac rwy'n bwriadu gwneud y fwyaf ohonynt! Mae bod yn aelod o CGIC yn un o'r cyfleoedd gorau y gellid cerddor ifanc o Gymru gofyn amdan. Bring on Nash 2016!

Carolyn Burton talks about her 'Nash 2015' experience

Listening on the radio to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique at the Proms as I write this blog brings back great memories of last year's Nash course. A few days ago I went to a concert to hear Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances - bringing back memories of our 2013 tour in Berlin. 2015's Nash has been no exception, I'm certain that I'll always cherish memories of it in the years to come. A splendid 2 weeks both musically and socially, NYOW 2015 has definitely overall been my favourite course out of the 4 years that I've been a member! (I think I played more correct notes than usual, too!)

We started off with a few days of 'sectional' rehearsals - hard work but very worthwhile. I feel so lucky to have been part of a great 1st violin section this year; being alongside talented musicians and close friends and being able to learn under the inspiring tuition of Adrian. There is never a dull moment in our 1st violin sectionals! Tutors night brought to a close the end of the first few days of Nash, where we had a chance to dine with and thank our tutors for all their hard work. The 'Nash tradition' of going for a 1st violin curry in Lampeter also took place one evening during the course!

The brilliant team of house staff couldn't have done a better job looking after us over the residency and they kept us busy every day after rehearsals with social activities. These ranged from a treasure hunt and cabaret night to a 'Nash Olympics', where team Orange (my team) didn't do too well... As always, Fancy dress night was a huge success and definitely my favourite activity of the course! There was a real range of efforts and loads of creative costumes (some better than others!) - the theme for this year being 'La Peri'. My group of friends decided to go as 'Peris' (fairies) and made cardboard wings and found Arabian material which we made into headscarves from the Lampeter charity shops!

Having the chance to work alongside world-renowned conductors is one of the best things about Nash, and I really enjoyed playing under the baton of Paul Daniel this year. The 'tour' part of the course is also phenomenal as we have the chance to travel across the country and play in spectacular concert venues. I enjoyed playing in all the venues, particularly Hereford Cathedral (a sell-out audience for 3 Choirs Festival) and of course playing in my home venue of PJ Hall, Bangor. Playing for a 'home audience' with the Nash gave me such a buzz, and that's definitely an evening that I'll never forget. It's always lovely playing up in the North and having family, friends, music teachers etc come to watch us! This year I also enjoyed the opportunity of playing in the 'Composers Ensembles' and had great fun working with Mark Bowden and the young composers. We performed their pieces in 3 venues across the tour including Llanelli, a new venue for the Nash this year!


I've written way too much now so I should stop... but anyway Nash 2015 has been another incredible experience and I couldn't have asked for a better way of spending 2 weeks of my summer. Words can't describe the buzz you get from Nash, but I've done my best and hopefully the photos will help a little! I'm sad that some of my closest friends are leaving this year (in particular Olivia and Dàire, as we're all from Anglesey and have grown up in the youth music circuit together!). All I can say is that at least I have 2 years left of applying for Nash and I plan to make the most of them! Being a member of NYOW is one of the best opportunities that a young Welsh musician could ask for. Bring on Nash 2016!

Application forms for NYOW 2016 can be found at www.nyaw.co.uk 

Sam Buttler reflects on his experiences during this summer's NYOW Residency

Nash 2015 has come to an end. This year was incredibly tiring, but very rewarding. The repertoire kept the entire orchestra on their toes in every rehearsal and every concert, but in the end, I think we really nailed it! Getting to play The Rite of Spring is a highlight in my musical life so far and is another addition into the great memories from NYOW.

The social side this year was another high point. We had a lot of fun coming up with our fancy dress this year, even if the theme (La Péri) was very difficult. In the end, myself and five of my friends decided to go as a six pack of pear cider. But we also decided to give it a twist, by going as “Nash Basics” Pear Cider! You can see our efforts below. It was great seeing other people’s efforts, such as the “Dukas of Hazzard” and a yellow submarine called “La Peri-scope” who were the eventual winners of the night.

Touring was also a great experience. I had never played in the Prichard-Jones Hall in Bangor or Y Ffwrnes in Llanelli before and these are two fantastic concert venues. It was fun to revisit Hereford Cathedral again as it was one of the venues in my first year. The final concert in St David’s Hall went really well, and it was great to have such a great crowd in my hometown of Cardiff.

I have enjoyed this year on both the musical and social sides. I strongly encourage anyone to apply next year for NYOW 2016, as it is a fantastic experience for any young musician. 

Application forms for NYOW 2016 can be found at www.nyaw.co.uk

Grace Buttler reflects on this year's (and her final) NYOW Residency

My final NYOW residency is over. I still can’t quite believe I’m too old to come back next year and it was strange not saying to people ‘I’ll see you next year’ in the bar after the final concert.

I thought this was an incredible year to end on. I loved the programme, even though I was a bit dubious about it at the start, and I can safely say that Rite of Spring is now one of my favourite pieces. There were so many great moments on my final course, and here are a few of my favourites.

Tutors Dinner. It’s always a really fun night, and it’s a lovely way to say thank you to everything our section tutors have done for us over the first week. This year was a little different to normal, because we had a live band after the meal! They were great fun and encouraged us all to dance far more than normal. The only downside (and my fault entirely) was that I wore stupidly high heels and so spent most of my night barefoot so that I could walk normally…

 

Twmpath. I remember having a twmpath in my first couple of years, but it was always in the SU and there was never quite enough space for everyone to join in and properly go for it. When I saw this year’s social schedule, I was a little dubious of how successful the twmpath would be. In reality I loved it. It took place in the canteen with an amazing man calling it who was very enthusiastic (and very patient when we didn’t quite understand the dances). Almost everyone joined and I had a great time. We all looked totally ridiculous but were loving it.

Paul Daniel. I realise that this isn’t a ‘moment’ as such, but he was one of the most memorable parts of the course. He never rehearsed us like a ‘youth orchestra’ and could get us to change the way we played with just a few words. With his endless energy and enthusiasm he got the Nash to sound incredible and never just coast along with the performances. Something new would happen every concert and that kept us on our toes the whole time!

Fancy Dress. As I’ve mentioned before, fancy dress is always one of my favourite parts of the course. I love the process of collecting the cardboard and all the other bits and bobs and turning it into a massive structure in the kitchen. The next challenge is always then getting the creation out of the kitchen and down the stairs to the SU. We were pretty successful with all of these this year and I’m proud to say that we ended our final year with a win. Surviving the whole night in cardboard flippers was also hilarious (both for us, and anyone in our vicinity)!

The final concert. This year, the final concert was at St David’s Hall in Cardiff and it’s an amazing one to end with as we always have a great audience to spur us on. The energy of the orchestra was awesome and I was so proud of how we played, especially the Rite of Spring. The standing ovation after the last note brought a tear to my eye as it finally hit me that that was my last Nash concert and I couldn’t believe that it was all over.

The past seven years as a member of the NYOW have been incredible. I’m so lucky to have been involved for this long and have been given so many opportunities to play in some amazing venues with world renowned conductors. What I’ll miss most though is returning to my Nash ‘family’ every year, made up of friends from all over Wales, and spending an amazing two weeks playing music with them. 

Gwen James, Violin, talks about her experiences so far this year

Arrival on Monday came with the usual excitement of meeting up with old friends, as well as meeting new people from our flat, section, and the rest of the orchestra. Soon afterwards, the annual realisation hit me that I hadn’t done enough practice, but finding out later in sectionals that I was certainly not the only one was a great relief!

Sectionals and full rehearsals have been great fun, as we make our way through the pieces bit by bit, not only improving on our notes and rhythms, but also our technique – my bowing has improved remarkably!! On Thursday night Paul Daniel arrived to observe our full rehearsal, before conducting us for the first time on Friday morning. He’s such a funny person, and it’s fantastic that we have the opportunity to work with him.

The best social event so far, in my opinion, has to be the tutor’s evening. Everyone had the opportunity to dress up, as we congregated in the dining hall for a 3-course meal consisting of a melon starter, roast chicken dinner, followed by profiteroles (yum!!!) Following this, everyone went over to the Student’s Union where a live band was waiting for us. This resulted in a brilliant evening of socialising and dancing, allowing us to meet more new people and to make some new friends.

The fancy dress evening on Wednesday will be great fun – a definite competitor for the best social evening of the course. The preparation of costumes has been going well, with the gathering of unwanted cardboard boxes from local stores to the painting of the costumes on the kitchen floor in any free time that we have.

Having had the opportunity to rehearse the music with the orchestra, I’m now very much looking forward to the concerts that have been lined up for us. I’m especially looking forward to playing at Theatr Y Ffwrnes in Llanelli as I’ve never been there before, as well as the final concert in St David’s Hall in Cardiff where the atmosphere is always brilliant.

Osian shares some initial thoughts on this year's conductor

We've now had our first day with the maestro him self, Paul Daniel. He is an extremely lively conductor that gets everyone in to the music.

We started in the morning and played through the pieces. At first it was a little bit hard to follow him and to follow his ideas, but one of the things he is very good at is imagery and getting us to see and feel his ideas. And by knowing what he wants it hit easier and easier to follow him. By now I have no trouble at all to follow him.

I'm starting to enjoy the pieces much much more now with him even though they're far from my style of music. As I said he gets everyone in to the music. I can't wait to play in concerts now and to see what Paul performs like in a concert.

Meg reflects on some of the Social Activities for the Nash Residency

Every year, exciting evening events are planned, one of the most recently introduced being The ‘Nash Olympics’. As always, the competitive streak in everyone was seen, with enthusiasm being shown in each event. They consisted of;
- Balloon slalom
- Three-legged race
- Egg and spoon race
- Bean bag racing
- Skipping
Now, as you can see, these may not commonly be seen as particularly athletic events. However, they do take more skill (and maybe even concentration) than meets the eye. All competitors were cheered on from the side-lines, some almost too enthusiastically! Although very tiring, everybody enjoyed!

Another new event (to me anyway), was the Treasure Hunt. This, yet again (but unexpectedly for me), involved running, although this time, slightly more voluntary. We congregated outside of the cafeteria at 9 o’clock, all eager to go.  Once gathered in our Welfare groups, in our team colours - and in some cases team paint - we sent forward a team leader. They returned to the team with the first clue, which would lead us to the next, where a member of Welfare staff would hand us another. The one clever catch however, was that the entire team had to arrive before we could leave to the next ‘check-point’. Proof of this was needed with a selfie with said member of staff. As soon as the word ‘’Go!’’ was said, everyone charged in different directions, once again, demonstrating how much the orchestra members throw themselves into everything. I really enjoyed this event, as I discovered some parts of the campus I hadn’t known were there, as well as getting to know my welfare group a lot better.
I’m looking forward to the many other events planned on the social calendar, such as the Fancy Dress and The ‘Nash Factor’, which are a lot of fun every year!

Blog diweddaraf Elain / Elain's latest Blog

Wrth i'r ymarferion olaf cyn y daith brysur nesáu, mae'r nerfau'n dechrau cynyddu ond mae pawb mor gyffrous! Heddiw fydd trydydd diwrnod y gerddorfa gyda'r arweinydd, Paul Daniel ac mae'r rhaglen wedi dod yn fyw. Mae rhoi sylw i fanylion bach bendant yn gwneud gwahaniaeth pan mae'r cyfan yn dod at ei gilydd.

Fe wnes i wirioneddol fwynhau cinio'r tiwtoriaid nos Wener. Roedd cael cyfle i wisgo'n ffurfiol a dathlu diwedd gwaith gwych y tiwtoriaid yn fendigedig!

Gyda'r darnau fwy neu lai yn barod, mae'n debyg mai fy ffefryn ydi La Peri gan Dukas oherwydd mae nifer o alawon cofiadwy o fewn y darn ac rwyf wedi cael fy nal yn eu canu fwy nag unwaith! Mae'r Rite of Spring yn swnio'n hollol wefreiddiol a bydd yn ffordd wych o orffen y cyngherddau!

Roedd ymarferion cyntaf yr ensemblau cyfansoddwyr ifanc neithiwr, ac mae'r gwaith mae'r cyfansoddwyr ifanc wedi eu gwneud dros yr wythnos ddiwethaf yn anhygoel! Mae'r darnau wedi'u manylu'n ofalus iawn ac wedi eu trefnu'n addas iawn ar gyfer y cymysgedd o offerynnau. Gwych! 

Rwy'n edrych ymlaen ar gyfer y cyngerdd cyntaf yn Llanbed nos fory gan obeithio y daw cynulleidfa dda i gefnogi'r gerddorfa a'r gwaith caled sydd wedi mynd i fewn i berffeithio'r rhaglen. Cofiwch am y cyngerdd yng Ngogledd Cymru - Bangor nos Fawrth!