Accenture-sponsored AYO perform spectacularly at the Beethoven Festival in Adelaide
20 August 2009
SI&T consultant, Chris Ducci, and AYO musician, Glen Christensen, tell us all about the event.
Chris Ducci recently took advantage of our Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) sponsorship and took his team to the Beethoven Festival in Adelaide. Below is an account of his experience followed by a letter from one of the AYO musicians, who has written to Accenture thanking us for our support of the AYO.
I have been working on an out of town assignment in Adelaide since the beginning of May. While I’m here, I am trying to see and do as much as I can.
I stumbled across an advertisement for the Beethoven Festival to be performed by the Australian Youth Orchestra, and was surprised to learn that Accenture is its principal sponsor. With a quick call to our marketing department I was able to line up some tickets to go and see the concert (arguably some of the best seats in the house!).
Not only did we get to see the Orchestra play, we were also invited, on the night, to attend the AYO awards dinner. I was privileged to be able to speak with Rosemary Turner, last year’s winner of an Accenture-funded scholarship. I was overwhelmed to see how much the scholarship has helped her pursue her dreams. It was a strange feeling to be personally thanked by Rosemary for something Accenture provided. She was so appreciative!
I guess I understand why Accenture has chosen to associate itself with AYO; at a stretch our jobs are not too dissimilar to being part of an orchestra. Individually we have been selected, on merit, to be part of a great organisation of like-minded people working together to produce something wonderful!
Dear Accenture
I have just returned from two and a half weeks in Adelaide where I have been rehearsing and performing with the Australian Youth Orchestra in the second and final installment of the ‘Beethoven Festival’. Over two seasons (July 2008 and July 2009) we learnt and explored all the symphonies and piano concertos of Beethoven.
It was an amazing experience and one of the greatest musical moments of my life. We rehearsed for over six hours a day and our hard work definitely paid off with extremely positive reviews, a full house on the last night and even a standing ovation. I love participating in AYO programs because I am able to spend time with close friends and like-minded young musicians in an intense yet fulfilling and inspiring environment where we are all striving for a similar goal – high performance.
Being able to perform works such as Beethoven’s symphonies (definite staples for every aspiring orchestral musician) with world-renowned conductors and soloists, reaffirms my absolute love of orchestral playing and the desire to always aim for my best. I have participated in AYO programs since 2004, and there is now no doubt in my mind that I want to be a professional violinist in a major orchestra in Australia or abroad. The support we receive from Accenture makes opportunities like these possible, and for that, I would sincerely like to thank you.
Regards
Glenn Christensen (19, Violin)