EGO is the youth orchestra of the Basque Country, which was born in 1997. The main goal and purpose of the orchestra is to be a preparation field for the young musicians, providing orchestral preparation and artistic development. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, they have organized a concert tour through the Basque Country in which we will play the following repertoire:
E. GRIEG: Peer Gynt (Suite 1 Op. 45 & Suite 2 Op. 55)
J. SIBELIUS: Finlandia Op. 26
R. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Toward the unknown region
P. SOROZABAL: Gernika
It is interesting to highlight that this year marks the 125th birth anniversary of the Basque composer Pablo Sorozabal, as well as the 85th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika.
The dates and locations of the concerts are the following:
30/12/2022, 20:00 - Leidor Antzokia, Tolosa
02/01/2023, 19:30 - Victoria Eugenia Antzokia, Donostia - San Sebastián
03/01/2023, 19:30 - Teatro Principal Antzokia, Vitoria - Gasteiz
04/01/2023, 19:30 - Palacio Euskalduna Jauregia, Bilbao
You can read more about the project here.
My expectations
I'm so looking forward to play in this project. Last winter, the rehearsals had to be canceled because of COVID right after we began working together, and I felt so sad (and a bit mad, to be honest) about it. It's not so often that I get the chance to play in such a big ensemble and the repertoire we were working on was amazing, so when they told us the project had to be canceled it was like taking a candy from a child.
Besides the musical element, I'm also excited for seeing people that I haven't seen in a long while and working together with friends who share the same passion as me. It's always so inspiring and enriching to be surrounded by talented young musicians and know that all of us in the orchestra are still learning, but yet we are able to play big and difficult repertoire at a very high level. It makes me really feel like I belong to the orchestra and that my little contribution is important, not only for the sonic result but also for the motivation of my colleagues.
To make it even more exciting, the EHGA (Basque Youth Choir) will be joining us for some of the pieces. I have already played with a choir before and I loved the experience. I think the combination between instrumental and vocal ensembles is so powerful, there's an indescribable force that surrounds us and unites around 50 people on stage to walk in the same direction: make the audience have the best experience possible. I get goose bumps just thinking about it!
It's been already six years since I started playing in youth orchestras and I somehow feel that this stage of my life is slowly coming to an end. It's a bit of a bittersweet feeling, I've learnt and grown so much musically and personally from these kind of projects that I don't want to close this chapter yet, but at the same time I'm excited to know what the future holds. Anyway, I'll try to make the most out of this winter tour!
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