BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Tone. Technical reliability. Stamina.
All things you’d want to hear about your playing, right? Indeed, this was the praise Sunga Lee received when she won the Australian Youth Orchestra Accenture Scholarship. The French horn player is developing her expertise with AYO; the standout performer prepares for the July Season as principal horn, having been involved in the programs since 2016 (as principal horn of AYO Young Symphonists, no less).
For Sunga, success with the orchestra is pretty much as amazing as it sounds. But she remains humble: “I was very grateful to have been selected as the recipient of the Accenture Scholarship amidst my talented peers”.
“Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been assured of my full participation in this year’s AYO programs and would not have had the means to invest in much-needed new equipment,” Sunga says.
Sunga has focused on the French horn since she was 10, and runs her own private teaching studio as well as working at Brisbane school Somerville House. A Bachelor of Music student at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Sunga also performs casually with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra among other freelance activities.
But, as many in the industry will tell you, the learning never stops. Prioritising professional development alongside professional experience, Sunga says of AYO: “Having some of the best young musicians in the country as your peers also gives way for a much higher quality of music to be created”.
“AYO was always of importance to me because it provides outstanding student musicians with the opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Not only does AYO connect musicians from all over the country, but it also allows the musicians to collaborate through challenging repertoire and work with some of the most renowned conductors.”
One such conductor is Courtney Lewis, who will lead Sunga and other young musicians through the AYO July Season performances in Sydney and Brisbane. Together, they’ll bring to life works by Britten, Rachmaninov, and Tchaikovsky (the latter featuring soloist Andrey Gugnin for the Piano Concerto No. 1).
“Each tutor and conductor has a different approach to working with us,” Sunga explains.
“I’m most looking forward to working under the baton of Courtney Lewis, who was the former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. It will be very exciting to be guided by Courtney to form our versions of the repertoire,” she says.
“It’s always very interesting to observe, and it allows me to adapt these approaches into my own teaching method.”
Herself a teacher, student, and professional musician, Sunga still enjoys having a bit of fun in rehearsals.
“I love the feeling of working in a team to build a piece up to a performance,” she says.
“It’s even better that my entire section is from the Queensland Conservatorium because we’ve had experience of playing with each other and we’re all very good friends. I think that it’s important to have this kind of culture so that we can encourage each other, but also to challenge each other to grow and excel together.”
Describing the education she and her friends achieve through AYO as “auxiliary to a music degree”, Sunga encourages others to support the program and the musicians who work hard to bring you their music.
“Apart from listening to some great orchestral repertoire, I think that it’s valuable to support young local musicians, the classical music industry, and AYO,” Sunga says.
“We know that classical music is being perceived more and more as a dying art, which is a real shame. I’d love for more people to experience our music and see value in it, and to help us to keep it alive.”
Do your bit when you watch Sunga and other AYO musicians perform this July 14 in the Sydney Town Hall and July 16 in QPAC, Brisbane. For more information on the AYO and its July Season, visit the website.
Some past winners of the AYO Accenture Scholarship include Jenna Smith, Jonathan Békés, Jack Bailey, and Jenna Schijf.
We teamed up with the Australian Youth Orchestra to bring you this story! Check back in as we interview and celebrate more emerging artists performing in Australia! Have you read our story with Andrey Gugnin, who will perform alongside Sunga in the AYO July season?
Images supplied.
