Polstjärnepriset Symphony Orchestra gives a concert at the Baltic Sea Festival: Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts!

Would you like to join us? We play Brahms Symphony No. 4, among other things. It is not too late to apply to join the orchestra – you can do so using this form.  

The orchestra members are young driven musicians from all over the Nordic region, including competitors and course participants from Polstjärnepriset 2023, Nordic Edition.

The orchestra has already given concerts, including with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, but can welcome more musicians. Check out the recording of our collaboration with the GSO!

During the preparations for the concert on August 26, there are several stages that ensure high artistic quality:

• section rehearsals on-site or online during the spring
• a course at the end of June and a performance at the Festival in Valdres, Norway
• rehearsals August 24-26 in Stockholm with Esa-Pekka   

Instructors are the orchestra’s artistic director and conductor, Andreas Patrik Hansson, as well as leading musicians, educators and professors from Nordic and European talent centers, universities, and orchestras.

What we expect from you

To participate, you need to prepare carefully on your own and possibly with your teacher. It is also useful to play along to recordings on YouTube – you can reduce the speed to 75% in the settings without affecting the pitch.

Furthermore, you should

1. participate in our section rehearsals during the spring – in real time on-site or online or at times of your choice on our YouTube channel (we record the section rehearsals according to the schedule below).
2. have either been part of Polstjärnepriset Symphony Orchestra in 2022/23 and or participate in June in the Wind Course in Vänersborg or the Nordic String Academy in Valdres.

If you can participate until the concert in Valdres, but not during the Baltic Sea Festival, it can also be approved. If you cannot participate in June during the wind and string course, but have participated in November/January, this can be approved for participation in the Baltic Sea Festival. In individual, particularly justified cases, we can make exceptions to the requirement under point 2. 

You may be selected as a regular in the production or as a reserve to replace a regular musician who is unable to attend one of our two concerts (see below).

The Application

Recordings

1. If you participated in Polstjärnepriset in November 2022/January 2023 or are already admitted to the Nordic String Academy, you do not need to send a recording.
2. Everyone else needs to send a link to a recording of solo repertoire to polstjarnepriset@yomacenter.se. We need access to the recording as soon as possible.
3. During the spring, after the sectional rehearsals, you may be asked to send recordings of your Brahms part to polstjarnepriset@yomacenter.se.   

Skriftlig ansökan i två steg

1. Registration of interest for the entire production. This also applies to those who have already registered – unfortunately these registrations have disappeared during the move of our administration to yomacenter.se. You will receive immediate feedback based on your attendance information during the project. You can register with this form.
2. Register separately for each sectional rehearsal/part of the course – we will send you the registration link well in advance of each course. 

Timeline

March: sectional rehearsals Brahms mvt 2 online
Section rehearsals for violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello and double bass will be made available on our YouTube channel on 20 March.

April: sectional rehearsals Brahms mvt 3 or complete YOMA-course IRL/online
1-2 April: YOMA course in Stockholm at the Royal College of Music or online. Sectional rehearsals IRL or online in real time during the course or afterwards online. For those who did not participate in Polstjärnepriset 2023, a lesson/sectional rehearsal on the 1st movement is also offered. Free of charge, you only pay for your travel and arrange food and accommodation on your own. If you live more than 30 miles from Stockholm and play oboe, bassoon, French horn, viola, or double bass, we will pay for your travel expenses. Course info can be found here. Apply using this form by March 22 to participate in the course.

May: sectional rehearsals Brahms all movements or complete YOMA-course IRL/online
6-7 May: YOMA course on site in Vänersborg (strings and winds) or online. You can participate in the entire course or just for a few hours of lessons/sectional rehearsals of all movements of the symphony. Free of charge, you pay your travels and 550 SEK for full pension per day if you participate on site. If you play the oboe, bassoon, French horn, viola, or double bass, we will pay for your travel expenses, as well as food and lodging for one day.

June: course and concert no. 1 in Valdres, Norway
Polstjärneprisets Symphony Orchestra rehearses separately for winds (25-27 June in Vänersborg) and strings (23-28 June during the Valdres Summer Symphony, the largest talent course in the Nordic region). On 27-28 June, winds and strings come together in Valdres and rehearse and perform together during the festival. The conductor is Andreas Patrik Hansson, the orchestra’s artistic director. Cost for winds 1100 SEK, oboe, bassoon, and French horn 0 SEK / strings 3750 SEK (contestants 2023 and violists and double bassists 0 SEK) plus your travel. The bus trip for the winds Vänersborg-Valdres is paid by the organizer.

24-27 August: rehearsals and concert no. 2 at the Baltic Sea Festival, Stockholm
Thursday: orchestra rehearses alone, Friday: rehearsal with Esa-Pekka, Saturday: rehearsal and concert with Esa-Pekka, Sunday: departure. Cost 1000 SEK. Also for those living in Stockholm. You pay your own travel expenses.

The orchestra has additional repertoire that is only rehearsed on site in June and August.