A brisk CONversation with Joseph Nizeti (approx. 5’9”, the deepest of brunet hair, black rimmed glasses of a rounded rectangular shape, a most agreeable amount of facial stubble, spry gait, a voice which is firmly inquisitive yet also at times highly inflected and buoyant, noticeably brown eyes) Honours Musicology and Arts Administrator for the emergent Northern Beaches Orchestra.
Q: What is the Northern Beaches Orchestra (NBO)?
The NBO is an all-ages Symphony Orchestra, obviously based on the northern beaches, which was created back in 2009 to fill a local need of not having a Symphony Orchestra. Specifically, when it was started the Orchestra was called the Northern Beaches Youth Orchestra, with a focus on making opportunities for secondary high school students and younger tertiary students. It was a lot closer than some of the other, more competitive alternatives such as the Sydney Youth Orchestra. The recent expansion of the Orchestra into an all-ages ensemble was in response to the sheer number of quality instruments in their 30’s and 40’s who wanted a local performance outlet.
Q: You mentioned that the NBO filled an evident hole in the cultural fabric of the Northern Beaches. What are some of the happenings which NBO has done and will be doing in the future?
Well, we had a great start with all three of the local Councils (Manly, Warringah and Pittwater) sponsoring us; they definitely agreed that the need was there. The NBO is still heavily involved with Manly Council, providing string quartets for some of their functions and performing at the Christmas Carols concert each year. NBO just keeps filling that in more and more ways. Our upcoming concert with Northern Beaches based band Lime Cordiale (June 29th) will hopefully engage a lot of local young people from their fan base who wouldn’t otherwise care for ‘classical’ music.
Q: Recently I met a young woman who was an ex-NBO member. Amongst an increasingly busy lifestyle, she also cited the technical level of the Orchestra as partly influencing her decision to leave. Is this kind of attitude towards non-professional ensembles such as NBO realistic?
The NBO is only 4 years old. Other nearby community Orchestras such as the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic, which is actually a pretty fantastic group, is 40 years old. Moreover, the Orchestra doesn’t get its members from exclusively Ku-ring-gai but draws them from all over Sydney, recruiting many music teachers and even Conservatorium staff – I believe Lewis Cornwall plays the Oboe in it. The current short term goals of NBO are to grow to full Symphonic size in the next 4-5 years and get more local music teachers and educators involved (though we do already have a few fantastic teachers on board!). At this stage the Orchestra is more about creating opportunities for its members. That doesn’t mean Musical excellence is not very important to us; we do our best with the resources we have. And I don’t think it will be long at all until that opportunity becomes more special, and then we can take the organization of the Orchestra to the next level with things such as auditions for entry and seats.
Q: For anyone who is interested, but not 100% sure, in joining a community orchestra like the NBO, what would you say to them?
Call! Sit in on a rehearsal! You’ll find 9 times out of 10 that the Orchestra actually needs more players; they would love to hear from you! Most of the people working in community orchestras are really friendly volunteers, some of who have been doing what they do for many years; they know their stuff. In the case of the NBO, we are at the level where we are happy for people to just sit in rather than formally audition. Also make a habit of going to see concerts, support them these Orchestras; they need all the funds they can get to keep putting on fantastic community concerts. And… Yeah… Get behind it.
This article was originally published in Conversation Issue 1, of 30 April 2012, published by the Conservatorium Students' Association. The print edition can be found on Issuu; it has been digitised by Alexander Poirier.