The Australian Haydn Ensemble Quartet has just been in town for a short residency in the last week of February and in conjunction with their concert in the Armidale Town Hall on Thursday 27 February, they immersed themselves into the community at NECOM and PLC. The Australian Haydn Ensemble is led by Artistic Director and violinist Skye McIntosh with Simone Slattery (violin), James Eccles (viola) and James Bush (cello).
On Tuesday 25 February the quartet gave a special concert to our young NECOM string players from Puddledocks, Boorolongs and AYSO. The students were able to ask many questions between each item performed and the members of the quartet were most impressed with the students’ aural perception. When asked what her favourite part of the concert was, Trista from Boorolong Strings said "I loved how Skye [Haydn Ensemble's leader] played really high and really fast. It was so cool!"
In addition, the musicians gave individual string lessons to NECOM's scholarship students. One of the most important aspects of the scholarships is the opportunity given to our young musicians to meet and learn with professional musicians and the experience was a great way to start off their year.