Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra Year-End Grand Concert 2022
Fifty young but talented musicians from the Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra (SSYO) came together to put up a grand concert, wrapping up a busy 2022 with a bang.
Months of preparation bore fruit when they serenaded members of the audience with crowd favourites such as Overture from Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach, Slavonic Dance No.8 by Dvorak, Intermezzo (from Cavalleria Rusticana) by Mascagni, Selections from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky and 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky.
Before making their entrance, though, the orchestra received a generous donation of a double bass presented by the RACTAR Bakery, which is part of the RACTAR (Pertubuhan Rumah Amal Cahaya Tengku Ampuan Rahimah). It was handed over by the patron of RACTAR, Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Puteri Nor Zehan Binti Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj to Eugene Pook, SSYO founder and music director-cum-conductor.
Opening the concert for SSYO was the 10-piece Selangor Symphony Junior Ensemble, who played Edelweiss from the Sound of Music to encouraging cheers from the audience. Thereafter, the concert was commanded by SSYO for the rest of the evening. Such a grand-scale annual performance served as a platform to further train these musicians to shine on stage and claim the moment as their own.
This year’s SSYO Grand Concert featured four violin soloists, Anna Ruth Oh, Jaylea Wong, Hannah Lee, and Esther Lee. Each of them played a movement of the all-time favourite, Four Seasons Violin Concerto by Vivaldi to the delight of the audience, when they put up a faultless performance under the skillful batonship of Eugene Pook.
Ipoh-born Eugene further gave the appreciative audience a night to remember when he played Stand By Me by Ben E. King on the clarinet, backed by his orchestra. As the 2-hour long concert drew to a close, it was heartening to personally witness the overflowing potential and talent of such young musicians, who will continue to improve over time under the strict guidance of their passionate founder, Eugene Pook. BRAVO!
Event: Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra Year-End Grand Concert
Venue: The Platform, Menara KEN TTDI, Petaling Jaya.
Date: 17th Dec, 2022
Time: 8.30pm
