BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
The Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp is a rite of passage for young musicians and arts practitioners in Australia.
So like many emerging music journalists, I too applied for the program’s Words About Music initiative in 2014. It was a small group – just seven of us, from across the states. We came together to write about the hundreds of emerging instrumentalists at the camp, each working hard to perform ambitious orchestral works.
(After which, this publication was born.)
If you’ve ever taken part in NMC, you will undoubtedly recall the inspiration, knowledge, and treasured friendships you gained through your experience. And if you haven’t, it’s important to learn about what happens behind the scenes to help launch the careers of performing artists, orchestral managers, and arts administrators in this country.
Now in its 70th year, NMC has seen more than 12,000 young musicians receive mentoring and guidance from leading tutors. This year, one of these tutors is David Khafagi.
The Adelaide trumpet player studied a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium before graduating from the Elder Conservatorium with Honours. He also undertook NMC as an emerging artist himself – and after a few “unsuccessful audition attempts”, at that.
David had moved to Hobart in 2004 to study with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Yoram Levy, and says “successfully auditioning for the following year’s camp and AYO season was particularly rewarding because it confirmed to me that I was making good progress”.
It seems his persistence rewarded him, as “2005 NMC was unlike any experience I had had before”.
“I had been on music camps previously. But the standard of playing, the passion of the participants and tutors, the wonderful conductors and the scale of the organisation will stay with me forever.”
This year marks the second year of tutoring for David, who started in 2017 as an Orchestral Management tutor and brings to NMC participants his wealth of experience. He works as the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Production and Venue Coordinator, and has also held arts management and administration roles with the Queensland and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
“As much as I love my job, it is possible to get bogged down in the mundane aspects, and working with people [through NMC] who are vibrant and enthusiastic gives me a fresh perspective on my own circumstances,” he says.
“Last year I went back to work after NMC riding a wave of positivity, and I’m confident that this year will be similar.”
At the camp, David is tutoring a team of eight “incredibly passionate and talented” emerging orchestral managers (themselves musicians, too). He’s teaching the group what it takes to work in the industry and manage the orchestras, chamber ensembles, concerts and venues of this year’s AYO experience.
“It’s a mammoth job for the team, and they’re taking it on with great energy and determination. They’re the first people to arrive each morning, and the last to leave each night, and they’re always positive and smiling.”
But while it may seem that this training is tailored and practical, David’s key messages to his students can be applied to work across all areas of the industry: “Be organised, work as a team, communicate, look out for each other, pay attention to detail, take pride in being a crucial – if largely unseen – part of the performance, have fun”.
Advice suitable to fellow trumpet player Sophie Spencer, no doubt, who attends this year’s NMC with the impressive new role of Principal Trumpet.
Sophie is in her fifth year with the Australian Youth Orchestra, having attended its Young Symphonists programs in 2015-16; and National Music Camp in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
“I decided to audition every year…due to the profound impact these programs had on me,” Sophie says.
“Apart from the incredible people I have met through these programs, some of these impacts include the abundance of knowledge, skill and advice that the tutors and conductors have taught us, and a much greater insight into orchestral and ensemble repertoire.”
Sophie, who studies a Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, says working among like-minded musicians through NMC is “always super rewarding, as these individuals have helped me grow and become a greater musician”.
She steps up this year after her successful efforts preparing for her audition, which saw her undertake instrumental lessons, and listen to recordings with a focus on the detail of each excerpt. Now, she feels her biggest responsibilities as a principal player include “clarity in the way I play, so that it is easy to follow, and therefore be able to create the best sound as a section”.
To other young musicians who are considering auditioning for NMC, Sophie encourages persistence and confidence.
“My advice would also be not to get discouraged if you don’t make it in on your first or second audition. Keep up the practice, find out what you need to improve on, and ask for help. Most people are more than happy to sit down and listen to you play, and want the best for you.
“But most of all, enjoy every moment of your journey!”
Support young musicians and watch them perform at the AYO National Music Camp, Elder Hall, University of Adelaide
Thursday 18 January 2018
Advanced Chamber Music | 8pm
Friday 19 January 2018
Composition Concert | 5.30pm
Brass & Percussion Concert | 8pm
Saturday 20 January 2018
Orchestral Concerts 3 & 4 | 4pm & 7.30pm
Best part about these gigs? They’re free to attend. Register for your tickets.
CutCommon is excited to partner with AYO to bring you even more coverage of these young musicians’ achievements in Australia throughout the year.
Images supplied.
