A TEEN Victoria Point violinist has stepped into the era of Mozart and Beethoven during an intensive music program in Brisbane.
From April 13 to 17, Johnny Kelly took part in the Young Mannheim Symphonists Queensland intensive, which featured students from across the state.
Musicians aged between 12 and 23 spent four days in workshops, tutorials and orchestral rehearsals focused on historically informed performance, which is an attempt to perform classical music as the composer may have intended it to sound.
Musicians may use instruments from the historical era and examine sheet music with original notes.
Students were led through musical masterpieces of the Classical and Romantic periods and mentored by experienced HIP musicians.
Johnny said he had enjoyed the opportunity to play on an authentic bow made between 1750 and 1820.
"[It] gave me a glimpse of what performing Mozart's, Haydn's and Beethoven's compositions would have been like during that era," he said.
"This course was a real eye-opener to the artistry of historically informed performance and has give me a fresh outlook on performing Classical and Romantic music."
The program culminated in a public concert at St Peters Lutheran College, with the Young Mannheim Symphonists performing the music they had prepared throughout the week.
Orchestra co-artistic director and general manager Nicole van Bruggen said the program had been a great success.
"The energy on stage was palpable and the orchestra played with vigour, passion and intensity, bringing the knowledge and insights they had gained from the historically informed workshops and rehearsals to life," she said.
Johnny said he had been introduced to historically informed performance when attending a Zoom webinar in July and was thrilled to get to explore it in greater depth.
"Each rehearsal we had I was able to learn and put into practice something new and exciting," he said.
"The repertoire chosen was filled with opportunities to explore new techniques and affects of HIP playing.
"I think the most valuable things I got out of this program was to always use your body, your mind and you in your playing."
