About AYO in 1992

ABOUT AYO

The 100 young men and women on stage at this concert represent the finest young musicians in Asia. Chosen by rigorous auditions held throughout the region, they are among the best of the best from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.

They met as an orchestra for the first time on July 18 1992 (Third season since AYO Inauguration in 1990) in Singapore, where they rehearsed for three weeks under the direction of AYO assistant conductor Mark Churchill, principal guest conductor Lukas Foss and resident conductor David Alan Miller.

It was an intense, exhilarating time. Rehearsals continued for seven hours a day, in three sections, giving each student the opportunity to go over every note in every score with an exceptional faculty of 16 distinguished musicians from the Boston and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, the Symphony Orchestra of the National Opera (La Monnaie) of Brussels, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, the Israel Philharmonic, Yale University and the New England Conservatory of Music, Indiana University and Chabot College, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Brass Quintet.

It was hectic, but there was fun as well. Away from rehearsal, the days were filled with the joy of meeting new friends, eating strange, often spicy and exotic foods, living together, relaxing with host families, and sharing the thrill of making music at a level of excellence and professionalism that many of these students now experience for the first time.

More than 600 students - the youngest 13, the oldest 25 - auditioned for the orchestra. When the process was over, 17 were chosen from Hong Kong, 19 from Taipei, 7 from Thailand, 11 from Singapore, 4 from Malaysia, 27 from Japan, 10 from Korea, 3 from the Philippines, and 2 from Vietnam, where auditions were held at the remarkably resilient Hanoi Conservatory.

Conceived as a tuition-free summer program, the Asian Youth Orchestra is designed to ignite a pride for what can be achieved by Asian musicians in Asia while affecting a positive influence on the brain and talent drain that continues to frustrate all Asian nations. It is the orchestra's intention to annually expose Asia's brightest young musicians to rich and varied artistic experiences that include rare opportunities for exchange, study and touring with celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

A formation committee of select Hong Kong business men and women created the organisational structure for the Asian Youth Orchestra and established it in 1987 as a non-profit charitable trust qualified under Section 88 of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance as a tax-exempt institution.

Hong Kong publisher Sally Aw Sian provided the initial funding and continues an extraordinary level of support. Scholarship, camp and tour support for 1992 has come from individuals and corporations in Singapore, Korea, San Francisco, New York (headquarters of the American Express Foundation), Taipei, Hong Kong (where AYO enjoys privileged support from Mr James Kung, Chairman and Chief Manager of Chekiang First Bank, Ltd), and Tokyo (where AYO is especially grateful to Mr Yotaro Kobayashi, Chairman of Fuji Xerox, and Mr Shoichi Asaji, Chairman of Nihon Building Services).

The above article is taken from the AYO 1992 souvenir programme book.

Back To AYO Main Page.