Derry's Guildhall hosting a free orchestra concert

Who is it? ‘I Giovani Solisti Chamber’. If you don’t know who is I Giovani Solisti Chamber is, don’t worry as the Journal spoke with the group to get a feeling of who they are.

We spoke with Emmett Drake who has been the director of Solisti for ten years. Originally from New York he moved to Connecticut to study composition at the Hartt School of Music where he has remained since.

I Giovani Solisti Chamber was founded back in 1983 made of public high school students from Hall and Conard Schools in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Emmett talks about how competitive it can be to join the orchestra, he says: “Admission to the orchestra is competitive. The students meet every day as a class at school, as well as once a week in the evening. The orchestra performs a wide variety of challenging repertoire at many performances throughout the year. Our European tours take place every 2-3 years. Most of the students in the orchestra have been studying their instruments since the ages of 4-9.”

So why should you see I Giovani Solisti Chamber despite it being free, Emmett said: “I think that one of the most unique things about Solisti is that you have such young students playing such challenging repertoire at a very high level. The students have been in school together and have studied instruments together since they were very little, so they know each other quite well. This familiarity with one another is apparent in their performances.”

Derry isn’t the only stop the orchestra has on their tour; they are also visiting Galway and Balbriggan. On their touring lifestyle Emmett said: “When we take these tours, we try to keep a good balance of sightseeing, performing, and learning about the place we’re visiting. We also really enjoy performing with and sharing concerts with local ensembles. We’re excited to share a concert with the Allegri Youth Choir in Derry! We typically perform every other day while we are on the road. When we’re home in the US, we have several major concerts each year, but we are also actively performing at various events in our community.”

On their Ireland trip they will be sightseeing at the Giants Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

Music is something Emmett and the orchestra are clearly passionate about, speaking on classical music and music in general Emmett said: “Music is a universal language, it’s a way for people who don’t otherwise know each other to share a feeling and connect. This is not unique to classical music per se, but it is unique to music in general. For us, being able to experience different parts of the world through our study of music is extremely valuable. We choose to have performing tours in favour of a heavy competition schedule. These experiences seeing the world, and experiencing the music and culture of places new to us is an amazing thing.”

So when and where again for I Giovani Solisti Chamber? Thursday, April 11, 7:30PM Guildhall and of course for free.