music austria – music information centre austria

Founded in 1987 as a nationwide youth symphony orchestra under the patronage of the organization Jeunesses Musicales Austria, the wjo is made up of students from music universities and conservatories, aged between 18 and 26 and hailing from all Austrian provinces; over 50 percent of its members are women. The orchestra plays an important role in pre-professional orchestral training by staging auditions and three annual work phases. Artistic direction lies with a dedicated team of highly regarded instructors and the wjo’s head conductor Herbert Böck, and the orchestra works together regularly with guest conductors including Atso Almila, Valéry Gergiev, Gérard Korsten, Andrea Quinn and Johannes Wildner. The orchestra has appeared with Austrian and foreign soloists including Christian Altenburger, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Paul Meyer, Benjamin Schmid, Mihaela Ursuleasa and Nikolaj Znaider. Its repertoire ranges from Classicism to modern music, and numerous contemporary works have also been commissioned from contemporary Austrian composers.

Awards:

• 1998, Moscow: 1st place at the World Youth Music Forum