Adelaide Youth Sinfonia

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Adelaide Youth Sinfonia (AdSI), directed by AdYO’s Artistic Director, Associate Professor Keith Crellin OAM, is Adelaide Youth Orchestras’ second orchestra. They regularly perform short orchestral masterpieces by composers including Saint-Saëns, Dvořák, Vaughan Williams and Stravinsky, which allow the students to discover the music in a rewarding and not too confronting manner. Each year they learn and perform over a dozen short orchestral works.

While enjoying discovering these amazing works, AdSI plays a significant role in nurturing the skills, enthusiasm and talent of our 70 musicians aged 13 to 18 in readiness for them to progress to the Adelaide Youth Orchestra.

During the year AdSI, like all of our orchestras, rehearse each week during school term. As part of the overall rehearsal program, they also receive orchestral related tuition in small and larger ensemble combinations with professional musicians of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

Founded in 2002 it has now unquestionably become an important ensemble with a unique sound consisting of youthful inquisitive enthusiasm. They present AdYO’s acclaimed and sell-out Babies Proms, and have championed Australian works by composers including, Iain Grandage, Katy Abbott, James Ledger, John Polglase and Natalie Williams. In 2008 with the support of the Australia Council, AdSI premiered Polglase’s Winter Sinfonia, which was documented in a one-hour radio documentary by ABC Classic FM.

Each year the orchestra presents a number of concerts with its sister orchestras, with one of its highlights undoubtedly being the Grandparents’ Concert where we for the first time in the year we hear impressive performances of somewhat challenging, but impressive orchestral works, performed with a sense of enthusiasm and wonderment by our gifted young musicians.