Landesjugendorchester Sachsen: Aufbruch

In the organizer's words:

Program: "Departures"
Fabian Joosten (*1990): The Ignition (world premiere)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Concerto for bass tuba and orchestra in F minor (1954)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Symphony No. 1 in B flat major op. 38 - "Spring Symphony" (1841)

Performers:
Saxony State Youth Orchestra
Soloist: Donath Rehm, tuba
Conductor: Judith Kubitz a.G.

Away with winter, we're waiting for spring! This time it's coming with our program "Aufbrüche" to drive away the cold season for good. The Saxony State Youth Orchestra will perform the "Spring Symphony". The composer Robert Schumann himself gave his Symphony No. 1 the nickname "Spring Symphony". The premiere of "The Ignition", a contemporary composition by Fabian Joosten, is like a fanfare. The name "The Ignition" refers to the ignition of the flame as a symbol of enthusiasm for orchestral music. The piece is intended to radiate joy of playing, be rhythmically rousing and at the same time have a heroic character. Fabian Joosten wrote it for a young audience as a mix of classical and film music. "The Ignition" carries the flame of awakening on to the tuba concerto by Ralph Vaughan Williams. This work is one of the English composer's most popular compositions and has become an integral part of the tuba repertoire. With this program item, we celebrate the lowest brass instrument, which is the instrument of the year in 2024. Our soloist Donath Rehm was himself a member of the LJO Saxony.

Since 1992, the Landesjugendorchester Sachsen has been the place to go for ambitious young musicians from Saxony, many of whom are at the beginning of a professional musical career. The 14 to 26-year-olds are the talented youngsters of the state's classical music scene and many of them are "Jugend musiziert" prizewinners who learn in rehearsals what it means to be able to rely on others, to listen, to react to each other and to be inspired. In two rehearsal phases a year, they alternate with the respective artistic director - Tobias Engeli since 2021 - and constantly changing guest conductors to rehearse programs at a professional level that cover all stylistic areas. The individual voice groups work together with teachers from renowned Saxon orchestras, such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra Chemnitz. This gives the young talents an insight into the working methods and processes of a professional musician's everyday life. Especially those who are about to decide to make music a career benefit from this experience.

But it is not only on a musical level that the young people develop; the projects are also a constant personal challenge that helps them grow. Very basic interpersonal values are challenged here. You learn to appreciate the performance of others, to show discipline and motivation and to fully commit to something, to see yourself and each individual as part of something bigger. The energy that this generates is almost tangible at the concerts. The LJO Saxony has not only thrilled audiences in Germany, but also in Poland, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Cyprus, the USA, South Africa, China, Karelia and Peru. Several CD recordings have made it possible to experience this event not only in the concert hall.

Donath Rehm was born in Chemnitz (Saxony) in 1999. At the age of nine, he received his first tuba lessons from Michael Nestler at the Erzgebirgskreis district music school. After winning several awards in the national "Jugend Musiziert" competition and gaining his first symphony orchestra experience in the Saxony State Youth Orchestra, he began his studies with Sebastian Wagemann at the Berlin University of the Arts in 2018. Rehm studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in the summer semester of 2022. During his studies, he received important musical impulses from Walter Hilgers and Carl Jakobsson, among others. He completed his bachelor's degree with top marks in the summer of 2023 and has been studying for a master's degree in tuba at the Berlin University of the Arts since the winter semester of 2023/2024. Rehm gained valuable orchestral experience as an intern at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. As a tuba assistant, he has performed at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz, the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra and many other renowned orchestras.

The conductor Judith Kubitz, whose musical roots lie in her Sorbian-speaking family and the folk music school in Bautzen, studied in Weimar, Paris and London before working as a conductor in Kassel, Cottbus and Schwerin. As a guest conductor, she has conducted music theater productions at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Konzerttheater Bern, in Regensburg, The Hague and at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival and the Rheinsberg Opera Festival. Together with the directors Katharina Thalbach and Volker Schlöndorff, she conducted the Seefestspiele Berlin in 2011 and 2012. Invitations as a concert conductor abroad have taken her to orchestras in France, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, South Africa, Latin America, China and Japan.
From 2013, she conducted the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra until she became artistic director of the Sorbian National Ensemble from 2017 to 2021. The diverse musical tasks she has been entrusted with as a conductor include conducting orchestral workshops with students in Amsterdam and Dresden, performances of live music for silent films and a European tour with David Garrett. At the same time, musical work with amateurs has always been close to her heart. For several years, she conducted the Thuringia State Youth Orchestra, the "Landstreicher Sachsen", the Sorbian choir MEJA and currently the choir of the Sorbian grammar school in Bautzen and the Pirna Youth Symphony Orchestra. In October 2024, she will conduct the celebratory concert in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert hall to mark the 100th anniversary of the Federal Amateur Orchestra.