State Youth Orchestra Hamburg

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State Youth Orchestra Hamburg
founding year 1968
Artistic Director Johannes Witt
carrier Regional Music Council Hamburg
Website: ljo-hamburg.de

The Landesjugendorchester Hamburg (LJO Hamburg) is a self-governing symphony orchestra in the city of Hamburg founded in 1968 as the Hamburg youth orchestra . It is the selection orchestra of the city of Hamburg and performs every year in the Laeiszhalle as part of two work phases . The LJO Hamburg is one of the oldest regional youth orchestras and is the only self-governing regional youth orchestra in Germany. The orchestra is funded by the Authority for Culture and Media and has been sponsored by the Hamburg State Music Council since 2007 .

history

The State Youth Orchestra Hamburg was founded in 1968 under the name Hamburger Jugendorchester (HJO) and was initially sponsored by the Office for Youth . At that time it was the only youth orchestra in Hamburg outside the school context. Right from the start, the focus was on the concept of an orchestra that manages itself. The sponsorship by the youth authority makes it clear that the orchestra wanted to set a clear focus on youth care in the form of self-administration in addition to artistic promotion. Herbert Bruhn was the orchestra's first conductor and, together with Matthias Rieger, played a key role in its founding. Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg acted as a mentor for the orchestra.

In 1983 the sponsorship changed to the Hamburg cultural authority . At that time, the orchestra regularly worked on programs in three phases a year and carried out various collaborations with choirs and the Hamburg University of Music . Between 1989 and 1995 the Hamburg Youth Orchestra played regularly at the Hamburg Music Festival.

In 2005 the orchestra was renamed the State Youth Orchestra Hamburg . This was intended to emphasize the status of the orchestra as the selection orchestra of the city of Hamburg.

The orchestra has been sponsored by the Hamburg State Music Council since 2007 . In the course of this change there is also a significant restructuring of the orchestra, which in particular had an impact on the orchestra's self-administration. However, within the framework of jointly developed rules of procedure, the orchestra was largely able to maintain its self-administration. The rules of procedure were fundamentally revised again in 2018.

Self-management

The Landesjugendorchester Hamburg is a project of the Landesmusikrat Hamburg, but manages itself to a large extent within the framework of joint rules of procedure. For this purpose, the orchestra elects an honorary orchestra board, which consists of 9 offices, at the annual general meeting. The various organizational tasks of the orchestra are divided between these board positions.

  • 1st chair
  • 2nd chair
  • Personnel Office
  • Press office
  • Advertising officer
  • Grade manager
  • Instrument manager
  • Treasurer
  • Writing

The board is supported by a project manager appointed by the regional music council (currently: Ulrike Zürn). The project management represents the orchestra in official matters and works closely with the orchestra board in day-to-day business.

While the orchestra board makes many decisions in day-to-day business independently, important questions i. d. R. decided by the entire orchestra. This includes, in particular, the choice of concert programs, the implementation of projects and trips, or the choice of conductor. Many other forward-looking decisions are also discussed by the entire orchestra at the plenary meetings that take place twice a year.

Work of the orchestra

In contrast to other state youth orchestras, the LJO Hamburg does not work in block work phases during the school holidays, but has been meeting for weekly rehearsals outside of the holidays since it was founded. This weekly work finally leads to two concerts a year in the Laeiszhalle as well as further concerts in the Hamburg area. Occasionally the orchestra also performs outside of Hamburg (e.g. in the form of concert tours or an exchange) and thus fulfills its role as the city's cultural ambassador.

In addition to the two concert phases each year, the orchestra carries out various projects. One of the orchestra's goals is to explore genres outside of classical music. In 2018, for example, the orchestra performed the work Spektrum by Jörg Achim Keller for solo trumpet, jazz band and orchestra with Ingolf Burkhardt and, in addition to concert tours (e.g. to Italy in 2018 or China in 2016), was most recently with Stefan Gwildis on tour with his program "Best Of (Live and Philharmonisch)".

As in other regional youth orchestras, an audition is required to play in the orchestra. During the audition, applicants play a fast and a slow piece of their own repertoire as well as selected orchestral passages for their instrument. In addition, one point must be played from sight. After the audition, a committee made up of the artistic director, section leaders and personnel manager decides on admission to the orchestra. Accepted members then first complete a six-month trial phase, after which they are finally accepted into the orchestra.

Discography

Over the years the LJO Hamburg has recorded various concerts and released them on CDs. Most of the recordings are still available from the orchestra. A selection of the CDs is:

Support association

In 2019, committed parents and musicians of the orchestra founded the association Förderer des Landesjugendorchester Hamburg eV , which has supported the orchestra both financially and organizationally since then. The development association supports the orchestra in particular with the acquisition of instruments and accessories as well as repair and maintenance work, but also helps with the financing of trips and other projects of the orchestra. The development association is organized entirely on a voluntary basis.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Orchestra - page 2 - State Youth Orchestra Hamburg. Retrieved on February 20, 2020 (German).
  2. ↑ Orchestra Board - State Youth Orchestra Hamburg. Retrieved on February 20, 2020 (German).
  3. ^ Play along - Hamburg State Youth Orchestra. Retrieved on February 20, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ Sponsor of the LJO Hamburg. Retrieved February 20, 2020 .