Concours to the European Union Youth Orchstra for slovak talented musicians

On the March 2nd, 2009 took place in concert hall of the Conservatory in Bratislava annual concours to the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), one of the world’s most prestigious and dynamic Orchestras. It unites Europe’s most talented young musicians from all 27 EU countries, under some of the world’s most famous conductors, in an Orchestra which transcends cultural boundaries and performs all over the world. The level demanded of the players, combined with the renowned musical leadership of its conductors, has won the EUYO an outstanding musical and educational reputationand regular comparisons with the world’s finest Orchestras.

In addition to the EUYO’s Music Directors, world famous guest conductors have included Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Carlo Maria Giulini, Herbert von Karajan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Georg Solt KBE, Herbert Blomstedt and Vasily Petrenko. Noteable soloists who have worked with the EUYO include Emanuel Ax, Teresa Berganza, Kyung Wha Chung, Barbara Hendricks, Nigel Kennedy, Radu Lupu, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Jessye Norman, Murray Perahia and Ravi Shankar.

The Orchestra is made up of up to 140 players, representing all 27 member countries of the European Union. The players are selected each year from over 4,000 candidates aged between 14 and 24, who take part in auditions throughout the EU. The competition is such that current members of the Orchestra have to re-audition along with new applicants each year in order to keep their places.

Once the members have been selected for the year, they are invited to join the Orchestra to rehearse and perform major works by composers including Mahler, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Beethoven, and Strauss, as well as contemporary repertoire which has included works by Ligeti (who joined the Orchestra as composer in residence on tour), John Adams, Erkki-Sven Tuur, and Arturs Maskats, on international stages all over the world.

In recognition of the Orchestra’s achievements, prizes awarded to the EUYO include the Olympia Prize of the Alexander S Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, the ‘Prix d’Initiative Européenne’, the Grant for Young Artists awarded by The Praemium Imperiale and the ‘European Media Prize’.

The European Union Youth Orchestra is supported by the European Union budget line 'Support for bodies active at European Level in the field of culture' and by each of the twenty-seven member governments of the European Union.