EYMW 2018 Student Report: Kieran Mathiak

One week. 26 countries. 35 languages. Countless unforgettable memories.

A Musical Welcome to Oakham

Another year, and yet another truly magical week - European Youth Music Week 2018!

Getting to Oakham wasn’t quite as straightforward as it might have seemed. Various delays and cancellations disrupted travel plans, but they weren’t enough to stop most of EYMW 2018’s determined participants from arriving in time for Saturday’s full orchestral rehearsal in the school’s chapel.

After tackling Bernstein’s West Side Story and Stravinsky’s Petrushka for the first time, the orchestra was rewarded with a big social gathering in the bar. Participants played games, shared drinks and began meeting faces both old and new, with friendships already being formed across the room in a huge variety of different languages.

Rehearsals, Chamber Groups and New Repertoire

Following breakfast and another full rehearsal, we got to know Saint-Saëns’s eerily fun Danse Macabre while experiencing yet another seating arrangement.

The group then split into two slightly smaller chamber orchestras, giving us the chance to explore even more repertoire. Soon, the sounds of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Saint-Saëns’s Third Violin Concerto echoed through the halls - sometimes in their instrumental versions, and sometimes in their rather enthusiastic hummed versions!

Coffee breaks became opportunities to form chamber groups of our own, with diverse ensembles soon rehearsing throughout the school buildings and across town.

Before dinner, we split once again into our different orchestral sections. This gave us the chance to work on yet more repertoire and hear another brilliant soloist from within the orchestra perform Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2.

Meeting the Refugee Choir

That evening brought one of the most memorable moments of the week.

After dinner, we finally met the members of the European Youth Music Week Refugee Choir. Through a few ice-breakers, we began to get to know one another and hear a little about each other’s lives.

Every choir member had their own individual story. Getting to know them and making friends with these incredibly brave young people was an extremely humbling and heart-warming experience.

The conversations continued long after the orchestra’s own choral session had finished, with some lasting right through to the early hours of the morning.

It was a powerful reminder that EYMW is about far more than simply making music together.

Karaoke, Choir and a 'Champagne Moment'

Another full day of rehearsals was topped off by Karaoke Night.

An eclectic mixture of songs and performances revealed new talents among the staff, conductors and participants, while introducing everyone to hits from countries almost as diverse as the people singing them. In total, 26 countries and 35 languages were represented at EYMW 2018.

While we may have been thoroughly thanking ABBA for the music that night, our throats certainly weren’t the next morning!

Luckily, we didn’t need our voices to launch straight back into rehearsals with Márquez’s raucous Conga del Fuego Nuevo, which snapped us right back into the form needed for the rest of the day.

Wednesday also saw the orchestra and choir properly join forces for the first time. Our first run-through of Chris Wilcox’s specially commissioned Ubi Bene Ibi Patria - Where there is kindness, there is my home - reduced many people to tears.

It was later unanimously crowned the week’s “Champagne Moment.”

The evening ended with a Ceilidh, bringing everyone together for a wild combination of dances and groupings. There was barely time to catch our breath before the orchestra was being taught traditional Kurdish and Eritrean steps too!

The Music Comes Together

By Thursday, it was possible to really see the results of all the hard work that had gone into the week, both individually and collectively.

A great deal of this was down to our brilliant conductors. They pushed us musically while remaining incredibly encouraging and great fun to work with.

The stimulating environment allowed everyone to discover new things about their instrument and to learn just how much difference tiny technical changes - as well as positive interpersonal dynamics - can make to the overall sound of an orchestra.

Following an afternoon trip to Cambridge, the orchestra and choir once again gathered in the chapel for the eagerly awaited chamber music concert.

The programme ranged from Mozart, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms to Piazzolla, Karl Jenkins, Ben E. King and Miles Davis. There was also improvisation, gospel music, original compositions and poetry.

The concert showcased the enormous range of musical talents within EYMW and demonstrated the many different ways powerful messages can be communicated through music.

A Final Concert in Leicester Cathedral

The EYMW and EYMRC projects reached their pinnacle with the final concert, held in the beautiful surroundings of Leicester Cathedral.

After successfully making it through an extremely demanding programme - and an equally emotional performance - it became clear just how much more EYMW is than a residential orchestra course.

With its origins in the post-World War II Anglo-German relationship and its subsequent expansion across Europe, the project's continued existence has been made possible by an amazing team of dedicated staff and musicians.

The addition of the European Youth Music Week Refugee Choir continues to embody the whole ethos of EYMW:

International friendship through music making.

Until next time...

Back in Oakham, we were treated to a surprise brass concert, followed by an award ceremony and one final get-together in the bar. Many participants carried on partying right through to the morning.

Alongside our universal disappointment at not being able to spend more time together until the following year was a huge sense of privilege - the privilege of having created fantastic friendships, experienced so many special musical and social moments, and been part of such a unique and inspiring project.

Such a transformative week will be difficult to top.

But perhaps that is exactly what makes EYMW so special. The memories, friendships and experiences from one week continue long after everyone has gone home - and they are precisely what will spur so many of us to return to future courses and events.

Kieran