The SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

 Radio and Television Youth Orchestra (SBS Youth Orchestra) located in Sydney, is one of the premier youth orchestras of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It was founded in 1988 by the Russian-born conductor Matthew Krel

Matthew Krel

Matthew Krel was a Russian-Jewish conductor who migrated to Australia and in 1988 founded the SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra, of which he was the chief conductor until his death. Like his Soviet friend, the composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, he was passionate about creating quality musical...

, who died in 2009. From its inception it has provided young musicians with extensive exposure to media publicity: the orchestra has made 30 TV programs and five CDs and has been aired on ABC Classic FM

ABC Classic FM

ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...

. As well as being broadcast on television and radio nation-wide, it has a challenging concert schedule, performing at venues such as the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

 and Sydney Town Hall

Sydney Town Hall

The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...

 every year.

The orchestra tours internationally, giving its members opportunities to showcase their repertoire abroad and experience different cultural environments. Since 1993 it has toured New Zealand, Tonga, Taiwan, New Caledonia, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Malta, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Japan, Estonia, Finland, Russia, the People's Republic of China, Spain, Hong Kong and Macau.

The members of the orchestra are aged from 13 to 25 and come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. They have worked with many international artists, including Giuseppe Giglio (Italy), Roman Rudnytsky (USA), Jansyk Kakhidze (Georgia), Christina Ortiz (England), Dimka Ashkenazy (England), and Liam O'Flynn

Liam O'Flynn

Liam O'Flynn is a master uilleann piper and prominent Irish folk musician. In addition to an impressive solo career and his work with the Irish traditional group Planxty, O'Flynn has recorded with many prominent international musical artists, including Mark Knopfler, the Everly Brothers, Enya,...

 (Ireland). The Australian artists they have performed with include Horst Hoffmann, Myer Fredman, Katherine Selby, Don Hazelwood, Marilyn Meier, Dene Olding, Don Burrows

Don Burrows

Donald Vernon Burrows, AO, MBE is an Australian jazz and swing musician, playing the clarinet, saxophone, and flute....

, James Morrison

James Morrison (musician)

James Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing...

, Geoffrey Collins, Nicole Youl, Elizabeth Whitehouse, Rosario La Spina

Rosario La Spina

Rosario La Spina is an Australian operatic tenor who has had an active international career since the early 2000s. He has worked with many leading opera houses and orchestras, singing under such conductors as Renato Palumbo, Bruno Bartoletti, Gary Bertini, Daniele Callegari and Richard Hickox...

, Judy Bailey, Chris Shepard, Stephen Mould, and Simon Tedeschi

Simon Tedeschi

Simon Tedeschi is a Boston-based classical pianist from Australia.-Life and career:Simon Tedeschi was born in Sydney to Mark Tedeschi QC, the New South Wales Crown Prosecutor and a prominent photographer and Vivienne Tedeschi, who is the daughter of a Polish Holocaust survivor, Lucy Gershwin,...

.

Key facts

• Established in 1988.
• Founding Conductor and Artistic Director: Matthew Krel
  Matthew Krel
  Matthew Krel was a Russian-Jewish conductor who migrated to Australia and in 1988 founded the SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra, of which he was the chief conductor until his death. Like his Soviet friend, the composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, he was passionate about creating quality musical...
  
  (1945-2009)
• Orchestral Manager/Assistant Conductor: Simon Thew (-2008)
• Orchestral Manager: Fatima De Assis (2008-)
• Honorary Secretary: Ian Hamilton
• Musical Director: Joanna Drimatis (2010)
• Conductors 2009: Simon Thew, Robert Johnson, Ronald Prussing
• Conductors 2010: Simon Thew, Geoff Gartner and Joanna Drimatis
• Guest Conductor 2011: Carolyn Watson