I’m going to SYDNEY guys!

            I’ve just been informed that I’m an official “Competition winner”; that means I get to go on an all expenses paid trip (hotel fees, travel fees etc) to Australia to perform at the Live Event as a member of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Several of the other contest winners have already contacted me to express their excitement. From what I heard, there are in total 101 members of the group from 33 countries (USA, UK, China, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Sweden etc). The group features people from as young as 15 all the way up to 40. I think that the diversity is absolutely amazing. Most of these players were either trained as a child or have started quite late in their twenties. Either way, all of the competition winners had some professional training at some point in their life and most are rather well-established performers in their home country. For me, I’ve been playing the violin since I was five (not to brag, but I’m kind of like a professional now too J).

            Also, I received a message from Michael Tilson Thomas, the official conductor for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. He is an American composer, pianist, conductor, and is one of the administrators that helped to create the YouTube Orchestra in 2009. He was born in Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California to further his music studies. In 1969, he conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra and gained international attention. Basically, he will be the one to decide our performance pieces and seating arrangements. He seems like a promising individual, and I can’t wait to meet him!