Fresh talent, fierce passion and a glimpse of what’s coming next.
There’s something quite exciting about sitting in a room and realizing you’re watching people at the beginning of their journey. Resonance Orchestra’s concert at Duke’s Hall captured exactly that feeling. It brought together young musicians and more established performers, creating an evening that felt like a breath of fresh air.
The orchestra itself is composed of young talent, with most of its musicians seemingly in their teens or early twenties. That youthful energy comes across to the audience, but so does their confidence when they start playing. With that it’s the little things that stand out: the small glances between each other, how naturally they work as a group but also their individual emotions painted on their faces. It’s clear that they’re comfortable performing together, and their ability to stay so closely in sync throughout the evening was noticed and appreciated. There’s a real sense of community among them, which makes the performance all the more warm and enjoyable.
The programme offered plenty of variety, with each performer bringing something different to the stage. It opened with the work of Nicholas Yuxiao Ni, a composer who is just 15 years old. Drawing inspiration from film, science fiction and the natural world, his compositions are full of imagination and have an almost cinematic quality. At times, the music seems to paint pictures of scenes that might accompany it on screen, and it wouldn’t be surprising to hear his work in a film one day. He also took to the podium to conduct his own composition. His approach was gentle and shy, allowing the music to speak for itself. There’s naturally room for his confidence to develop as he gains more experience in front of an orchestra, but to be composing, performing and conducting at age 15 is an achievement in itself.
Carlo Antonioli, the second conductor of the night, brought a rather different energy to the evening. His conducting was expressive and full of character, with plenty of passion and gusto. His enthusiasm was engaging and electric as he led the orchestra through the performance. Hannah Roberts, the featured cellist, was equally magnetic. She seemed amazingly comfortable at wielding her instrument, bringing a bold personality and great emotion to her playing. Her performance had a beautiful sense of individuality, and her enjoyment of being on stage was obvious.
What made the concert particularly unique was seeing these different personalities and levels of experience come together. From Nicholas’s youthful creativity to Carlo and Hannah’s confidence and stage presence, there was something magical in every part of the programme. The Resonance Orchestra has plenty of potential, and Nicholas is certainly one to watch. It was a thoroughly impressive evening and a promising glimpse of what the orchestra might achieve in the years ahead.
Resonance Orchestra was a one off performance at Duke Hall’s run at Royal Academy of Music.