When Simon Hewett conducts Queensland Youth Symphony, he looks out at a sea of young faces and possibly recognises himself. As a youngster Hewett, currently QYO artistic director and conductor of QYS, was a hopeful young musician with aspirations for an international career.
He found that career as a conductor and has gone on to conduct some of Europe’s finest orchestras in some of that continent’s greatest houses.
But for the past few years Hewett has been back in Brisbane leading Queensland Youth Orchestras. QYS is QYO’s leading orchestra, although he admits he never made the cut for that one as a youngster in Brisbane.
“I was a clarinetist and not quite good enough,” Hewett confessions. “I played in QYS2.”
But QYO founder, the late John Curro, recognised in him a conductor worth encouraging – and he did. By throwing him in the deep end.
“I was doing conducting lessons and John used to get me to come in and take QYS rehearsals when he was away, which was a bit scary,” Hewett recalls.
It all turned out pretty well. Curro died in 2019 at the age of 86. He didn’t live to see Simon Hewett return to run QYO, but maybe he had an inkling about that all those years ago.
Hewett will certainly be reflecting on that next weekend, which is a biggie for QYO because it is about to turn 60.
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QYO trains the state’s best young orchestral musicians, aged eight to 25. On June 6, its 60th birthday, it is inviting everyone to party at The Old Museum – home to QYO for almost 40 years – in Bowen Hills. Music lovers are invited to come along to see and hear where Brisbane’s best orchestral musicians hone their craft.
They’ll be welcomed into the rehearsal rooms of eight orchestras, including the Junior String Ensembles, Wind Symphony, Big Band and the Queensland Youth Symphony. Pop-up chamber groups will be performing in the garden, and a range of children’s activities and food options will be available. For families with littlies, The Old Museum’s Concert Hall is where they can enjoy performances of Peter and the Wolf and The Carnival of the Animals.
This will be a day to celebrate generations of QYO talent because, each year, more than 500 young Queenslanders train with QYO. Throughout its 60-year history, thousands of young Queenslanders have taken to the stage with QYO orchestras and ensembles.
‘It’s the place where my love of orchestral music was first ignited’
The rollcall of successful QYO alumni is staggering. Violinists Ray Chen, as well as Brett Yang and Eddy Chen (best known on YouTube as TwoSetViolin) are among the who’s who of QYO past players. World-renowned cellist Li-Wei Qin also trained and performed with QYO, as did Simon Hewett.
“I owe so much to this organisation,” Hewett says. “It’s the place where my love of orchestral music was first ignited and having the opportunity to share the stage with contemporaries who loved it as much as I did … well, that was priceless.”
Hewett says he was blessed to have been mentored by Curro.
“Our June celebrations are a chance to honour the greats who shaped this organisation and, equally, to applaud the young and ambitious musicians who continue their legacy today.”
Hewett points out that QYO’s legacy is not just the superstars but generations of professional musicians, teachers and others who have passed on their love of music.
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“Thousands of music educators teaching kids in our schools came through QYO,” he says, “And I can imagine some music teachers whispering in the ears of their most talented students – it’s time you tried out for the QYS.”
Following the free birthday celebrations at The Old Museum you can enjoy the creme de la crème of QYO’s musicians at a concert at QPAC at 3pm on June 7, when QYS will perform works by Beethoven and Strauss.
The concert, Visions of Nature, is set to take audiences on a journey from reflective, tranquil melodies to awe-inspiring, dramatic compositions that demand attention.
Simon Hewett selected Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony No. 6 and Strauss’ Alpine Symphony to showcase the power of orchestral music to reflect Mother Nature’s peace and power.
“These are challenging symphonies, not only because of their complexity but because of the sensitivity required to communicate the story behind each movement,” he explains. “It’s certainly a workout for our young musicians, but whenever I raise the bar they always exceed my expectations.”
Pastoral Symphony comprises five movements based on a countryside theme, including inspirations from bubbling brooks and clearing storms. In contrast, Alpine Symphony charts a day’s climb from midnight to dawn. Hewett paired these pieces to showcase the full gambit of his young musicians’ abilities.
‘I get to pick the greatest pieces of repertoire for QYS’
Hewett has a particular love for Alpine Symphony, which he has conducted many times with adult orchestras. Working on it with the younger musicians of QYS is a delight, he says, because he can spend more time unpacking the work during rehearsals.
“I get to pick the greatest pieces of repertoire for QYS and then I get to spend hours with this repertoire over many weeks,” he says. He describes the usual process as “taking the express highway” while working on a piece with QYS is more akin to “taking the coastal road”.
Hewett still has one foot in the world of conducting beyond QYO and has recently returned from conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the famous Salzburg Festival. In 2023 he took the QYS to Europe where they received rave reviews from even the toughest critics.
Nearing the conclusion of the QPAC performance on June 7, one lucky audience member will raise QYO’s Golden Baton and take the orchestra through its paces. The Golden Baton goes under the hammer each year at QYO’s fundraising gala. The latest auction fetched $5000 for the chance to lead the orchestra – with funds contributing to the cost of weekly specialised tutorials, performance venues and music hire. It could be fun.
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