Violinist Francesca Bass ‘13 traveled abroad to Holland with juniors Nicholas Gallitano and Gerald Karni, both violists, along with 117 other musicians in the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
During the 12-day tour, they performed at four world-renown concert halls and a famous church. Gallitano and Karni agreed with Bass that this trip was some of the best 12 days in their entire life.
“In Holland, we didn’t know anyone in the audience, and they didn’t know us either,” Gallitano said. “Different from Boston, where we invite our friends and family to come, these people came to see us because they really wanted to watch a group of talented performers. It was so gratifying to see that.”
The whole experience was emotional for some of the musicians, Gallitano said, because instrumentalists felt such a deep appreciation for the concert hall they were playing in as well as for the work it took to reach that place.
“All of our concerts were just absolutely incredible because the music we played on tour, we had been working on literally the entire year, so our playing rose up to a whole new level,” Bass said. “The inspiration and energy just soared, especially in our last concert at Concertgebouw where everyone, including me, was crying.”
Making this trip possible was no easy task; the BPYO members said they needed to raise $350,000 alone for the trip, as well as $300,000 for the regular yearly expenditures.
“We had a kick-starter program where we set our goal for $35,000 and we had a month to reach it,” Karni said. “We also received a lot of donations and sponsors. People were so impressed by our orchestra that they made really large contributions.”
After raising the goal amount and having a successful first year as a new orchestra, conductor Benjamin Zander informed the BPYO that they would tour over the summer, Gallitano, Bass and Karni said.
“When we found out we were going on tour, it was extremely exciting,” Bass said. “This was the orchestra’s first year, and the fact that we accomplished so much is just mind-blowing.”
Throughout the trip, the 120 musicians were split up into four different chaperone groups based on their age. In these groups, the musicians learned not just to rehearse together, but to live with one another.
“The first night we stayed in a hostel. I was with nine other teenage guys in a tiny room with bunk beds and a small shower and toilet in the corner,” Gallitano said. “And as you can imagine, that night wasn’t very fun. I was fortunate though because the rest of the nights I had to share a room with less people.”
Their days were full.
“We usually got up early, had breakfast and then did some kind of activity or we rehearsed for the concert we were playing either that night or the next day,” Gallitano said. “During the day we also went to see museums around the city, and tour on busses, but that was in between rehearsals and concerts.”
All the musicians interviewed said that the performance at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was their favorite.
“The Concertgebouw is one of the best European halls in the world, and that final night was definitely an emotional time because it was not only our last night in Holland, but it was our last night together since many seniors were leaving to go off to college,” Karni said. “A full house of 1,800 people and a standing ovation at the end just made it all even better.”
While the trip is over and many of the BPYO members have moved on to the next stages in their lives, Bass said that she will never forget this trip.
“Even now as a freshman at Cleveland Institute of Music, I know that the memories I have from being a part of this orchestra will stay in my mind forever,” Bass said. “There probably isn’t five minutes that go by where I don’t think about the incredible experiences I had.”
Tasoula Burk can be contacted at [email protected].
