The members of Vanuatu’s first youth orchestra are not like the children who usually learn classical instruments.
The orchestra’s conductor, Australian Barbara Idieder, sometimes notices her students return to rehearsals with wax drippings on their instruments.
“Then I know, okay, that kid has got a candle at home. Like they don’t have electricity,” she said.
The Ensemble Nabanga for disadvantaged youths has just completed the trip of a lifetime touring in Queensland.
On their arrival in Brisbane, students like Kaina Delrieu were blown away by what they saw.
“I was, like, surprised when I came here. I’ve discovered new things that I never, ever have seen,” she said”
Barbara Idieder
Their action-packed scheduled included a trip west to Toowoomba where the group of 10 students received a workshop with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO), one of Australia’s leading orchestras, at the Empire Theatre.
The trip had been years in the making and the significance of this opportunity was not lost Ms Idieder, nor her students.
“We’re going to play for the musicians and get some lessons, which is nuts, it’s just crazy,” she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/ensemble-nabanga-strikes-the-right-note-for-vanuatu-youth/101637148