This year, Wakefield Youth Symphony Orchestra's concert took place on a warm, balmy July evening, following an intensive week-long orchestra course. The programme choice was undoubtedly the most demanding that the orchestra have had to tackle for many years, but the young musicians in the orchestra clearly relished the challenge of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony, Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' Overture and a selection of operatic arias to be performed by the young Soprano, Katerina Mina

After five full days of rehearsals, sectionals, tuition and practice, the students of the orchestra may have been tired, but it certainly didn't show in the performance they gave on the Friday night. First up was the 'Barber of Seville' overture. With its slow introduction, all the players attention must be focussed straight away on keeping a tight ensemble and the orchestra achieved this before launching into the well known, faster violin theme. The brass and woodwind responded well to the jubilant tutti sections and the overture concluded in fine style.

The arias began with Puccini's Care Nome from 'Rigoletto' and also included works by Bellini and Verdi before finishing with 'O Mio babbino caro' from 'Gianni Schicchi'. Whilst these pieces may not be too technically demanding from the orchestra, they do present challenges in maintaining a true sense of ensemble whilst supporting the soloist and the rubato themes were bravely negotiated throughout with the clear authority of James Cunningham's direction. The beauty in Katerina Mina's voice and the grand surroundings of Wakefield Cathedral mingled to produce a very special performance which was warmly appreciated by the audience.

Following the interval, it was time for the orchestra to demonstrate its true depth with Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Composed in a time of great uncertainty and repression for Soviet artists, the symphony is filled with subtle (and some not so subtle) nuances reflecting the composer's plight and that of the country as a whole. The anguished and uncertain opening of the symphony was performed in an understated, but confident manner with the violins' technique being tested on the high rising melodies. Solo woodwind entries and the challenging French Horn lines were well judged before the horns and trumpets announced the tense, sticken climax to the first movement with its Mahler-esque march section and broad brass themes. Although the symphony makes many technical demands of its players, particularly at the extreme ranges of the instruments, these were bravely negotiated and the movement closed quietly with the rising celeste scales.

The next two movements could hardly create more contrast with the short, light second movement being followed by the third which could be said to represent the anguished and grief stricken heart of the symphony. In this section the players were required to perform with a maturity beyond their years and although the smaller size of the string section limited the timbre, the sad beauty of the music seemed to grip the performers. This inspired them to produce some genuinely moving and wonderful musical moments, not least from the solo woodwind themes played by principle flute, oboe and clarinet.

The final movement of the symphony was later described by Shostakovich as the sound "as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying "Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing" and the rigid march themes were amply enjoyed by the brass and horns. Although the quieter middle section created a few moments of pause and reflection, they were short lived before the side drum and woodwind resumed the millitary theme, heralding the symphony's pounding D major ending. The audience clearly appreciated the intesity of the music on offer over the evening and the final result was testimony to the hard work of students, conductor and orchestral tutors over the whole week.