Recenzja - Xenophon Kelsey

XENOPHON KELSEY, MBE Conductor and Musical Director (Vacation Chamber Orchestras, St Cecilia Orchestr, Mowbray Orchestra & Ensemble etc.), music education specialist, lecturer, teacher, adjuducator and occasional double bass player. Jury member and Ambassador for the European Festival of Music for Youth, Neerpelt, Belgium. 5 January, 2013 Archetti Chamber Orchestra. I heard this excellent string orchestra in May 2011, when they won a First Prize "Summa Cum Laude" at the European Festival of Music for Youth in Neerpelt, Belgium. This is a fantastic achievement, as only the very best ensembles in Europe receive this award! I was a member of the International Jury at this event and I also worked with and directed these superb young musicians in a workshop performance with advanced students from the UK. One of the players also attended a European Vacation Chamber Orchestra residential course in France last Christmas, under my direction. This orchestra and these musicians are wonderful ambassadors for your city and for Poland. Their standard is truly exceptional and their enthusiasm and commitment are like a breath of fresh air. I understand there is now some shadow over the future of this orchestra and I implore you to do all you can to support their work and enable them to continue to flourish. In these troubled and uncertain times, we have to look to the future. Education is of paramount importance – and musical education has a powerful and unique value in developing the character, attitudes and capacities of our young people. Of all types of musical education and activity, there can be no doubt that string playing in orchestras and ensembles at this highest level is the most important and confers the greatest educational value. As with all forms of education, we must work from the top downwards as well as from the bottom upwards. This orchestra and these young musicians provide an essential role model and inspiration for all the young people in your city and for all those who hear them, wherever they perform. Xenophon Kelsey