Westmount Youth Orchestra to tour Europe this summer

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the WYO. Since its founding, the orchestra has offered young musicians from all over Montreal the opportunity to work with highly qualified conductors and coaches, and to perform a diverse repertoire in an intimate and supportive atmosphere.

The WYO's 60 musicians, aged 12 through 22, rehearse for three hours on Saturday mornings at Victoria Hall. Following the European tour, the orchestra will he staging a gala event in the fall.

The program for last Sunday's performance included works by Mozart, Grieg, Hüe, and Bernstein. The afternoon concert's featured soloist was principal flutist Shannon Bouchard. Bouchard began taking flute lessons with Margaret Trethewey at the age of three. She continued for nine more years with Kelly Williamson, and last September began studying with Heather Howes.

Although only 15 now, she has already played many public concerts, including duets for benefactors of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Two years ago, she played first flute in the Canadian premiere of Gary Shocker's Tapestry Sonata. This is Bouchard's third season with the WYO.

"She's very impressive," said Scott Gabriel, the WYO's musical director. "Wind players often start studying later than string players do … Wind players often don't start until their mid-teens … She's gone from timid, young beginner in the orchestra three years ago to the principal player."

Gabriel said that Grieg's Peer Gynt — Suite No. 2 was selected as an homage to the 100th anniversary of the composer's death. "We wanted to recognize that a bit and the pieces are just so beautiful," he said.

"Grieg is a composer who is loved, but not necessarily as famous as, say, Debussy, or Ravel. But Grieg, in fact, his orchestration techniques inspired a whole generation of composers that came after him in the early 20th century — the orchestral colours that he uses.

"So it's really a great opportunity to play music that is seminal, that changed the face of music at the end of the romantic period, but that's also accessible technically for the orchestra," he added. "It's nice to be able to play those roots."