Two Dunedin violinists are among the country's top classical musicians to be selected for the 2016 NZSO National Youth Orchestra.
Caitlyn Tisdall (18) and Leon Hook (17) were selected to play 1st and 2nd violin respectively, after auditioning for the orchestra's February concert programme.
Both said they were excited about the opportunity to work under acclaimed Australian conductor and music educator Richard Gill, and alongside British virtuoso cellist Laura van der Heijden, who will be the guest soloist at the orchestra's concerts in Hamilton (February 5) and Tauranga (February 6).
"I've done this before and I really love it. It's always such an amazing experience,'' Miss Tisdall said.
The Dunedin duo will join 60 other top young classical musicians from around the country at Waikato University on Monday for an intensive one-week rehearsal camp.
Featured in the programme is the Saint Saens Cello Concerto No1 in A minor, Mendelssohn's concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), and Schubert's Symphony in C major.
NZSO chief executive Christopher Blake said the National Youth Orchestra aimed to give talented young players a taste of what it was like to play in a professional orchestra, and show them working in an orchestra was a potential career path.
"An important feature of the NZSO National Youth Orchestra is the opportunities it provides to perform important and seminal orchestral repertoire under the direction of highly experienced professional conductors.''
He said the National Youth Orchestra acted as a stepping stone for up-and-coming New Zealand classical musicians, and many went on to play in orchestras overseas.
In 2015, about 170 musicians from around New Zealand applied for a position in the orchestra, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year.
