News
MONCTON, N.B. March 14 – New Brunswick’s ‘champions’ of youth orchestral music will join forces with other talented performers for WE WILL ROCK YOU, a tribute to rock superstar band Queen, at the season finale for the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO) in Moncton on March 23. UNI Financial Corporation is the presenting sponsor for this special event.
Maestro Tony Delgado, NBYO music director and conductor, said the concert will be a musical extravaganza.
“This season’s final show is a mixture of traditional orchestral repertory, a video games suite, a taste of the Dvorak’s New World Symphony we have been performing this year and a second half all devoted to the music of the band Queen,” Delgado said. “The young musicians love performing Queen’s music. We played an arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody a couple of years ago and they loved it. For the concert finale we will play at least seven of their songs and with more than 100 voices in a giant collaborative choir. “
Joining the NBYO on stage for the Queen Tribute will be singers Gilberto Bermudez and Izabelle Ouellet, with guitarist Mike Maillet. The choir includes singers from Jeunes Chanteurs D'Acadie, ASDE Staff Choir and Mount Allison Choral Society.
Don Matheson, NBYO director of community engagement, said the March 23 performance should be an incredible event.
“Confidence and camaraderie are at an all-time high. Last summer’s tour to New York City to perform in the Viennese Masters Orchestra Invitational Festival at Carnegie Hall enabled most of our returning NBYO members to get a jump-start on their bonding and cohesiveness. NBYO coaches from across the province have mentored our youth ensemble to peak performance throughout the year. Maestro Delgado’s charisma elicits the very best from the team in both musicality and decorum,” Matheson said.
Delgado said this year’s orchestra is a musical powerhouse with more than 100 members.
“We play a challenging symphony at a very good level. The orchestra has completely changed the repertory, playing with musicality and confidence,” Delgado said. “The young musicians love working with guest performers. It teaches them adaptability, learning different styles, different ways to face performances and how to enjoy music from a different perspective.”
More than 60 NBYO members are from Greater Moncton, Riverview, Dieppe, Sackville and other communities in the region. Matheson said the orchestra relies on the generosity and hospitality of many Moncton area families throughout the concert season to host NBYO members on rehearsal-concert weekends.
“The Wesleyan Celebration Centre is a spectacular venue. The auditorium capacity is over 1,800 seats. And, for a showplace of such grandeur, no patron is ever very far from the stage. All seats are very comfortable, and we project our live performances on two huge screens above the stage. Everyone has a terrific close-up view of the action. We have worked closely with our A/V partners—SSI - for dozens of performances over the past 16 seasons. They truly know how to accentuate our individual and group performances,” Matheson said.
The 2023-24 NBYO concert series has enjoyed a great turnout at performances in Tracadie, Bathurst, Woodstock, Saint John and Fredericton. Matheson said the audience includes long-time loyal partners and patrons and many new orchestral music lovers.
“The Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Centre has hosted NBYO for over 16 years. Several of our most ambitious and spectacular performances have been staged there. We’re confident that our WE WILL ROCK YOU showcase will raise the roof,” Matheson said.
The curtain will rise on the WE WILL ROCK YOU Concert on Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
at the Wesleyan Celebration Centre, 945 St. George Blvd., Moncton.
Tickets for the concert are available at https://www.nbyo.app/tickets
