Symphonies Simple & Philharmonic Friends:
A family livestream-experience from YSTOI and the Kids’ Philharmonic

Here we go in a flung festoon,
Half-way up to the jealous moon!
Don’t you envy our pranceful bands?
Don’t you wish you had extra hands?

     – ­From “The Road-Song of the Bandar-Log” by Rudyard Kipling (emphases ours)

The YST Orchestral Institute in collaboration with the Kids’ Philharmonic (under the direction of YST alumni, Luo Wei) offers a family livestream-experience presented and conducted by Principal Conductor, Jason Lai, and featuring collaborative composer and YST Visiting Faculty, Karst de Jong. Join us as we explore simple symphonies and philharmonic friendships!

The young Benjamin Britten (1913-76), was already composing extensively well before his teenage years. Yet it was through being mentored by Frank Bridge (1879-1941) from 1927 that he soared artistically and emerged as a powerful force in 20^th century classical music as a young adult – and eventually as one of the greatest British composers of all time.

One of Britten’s crowning achievements while being mentored by Bridge is the Simple Symphony, Op. 4 – premiered in 1934 and composed whilst Britten was still a student at the Royal College of Music. In this symphony, Britten took thematic content from his own compositions as a child – including his Road-Song of the Bandar-Log, which he composed as a ten-year old inspired by poet Rudyard Kipling.  

In this concert, Jason and Karst will guide you through the creative journey that enabled an up-and-coming boy musician to transform himself into a prodigious composer. We are joined by the extra hands of the Kids’ Philharmonic and the YST Orchestral Institute, who travel with us as a pranceful band.

With generous permission from the Britten-Pears Library, we will explore snippets of Benjamin Britten’s childhood compositions, and you’ll be able to hear our young musicians imagine light-filled evolutions and transformations in real time.

Please come join this flung festoon as we enjoy symphonies simple with our philharmonic friends!

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ABOUT THIS EVENT

This event will be livestreamed on the Conservatory’s YouTube channel. Follow and subscribe to be notified of upcoming streams.

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TICKETING INFORMATION

• Due to COVID-19 related guidelines, this performance will only be offered virtually.
• All event information is correct at time of print.

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