Bombay Chamber Orchestra's diamond jubilee celebration

 

The Bombay Chamber Orchestra Society was founded in 1962 as an educational trust, primarily to offer free coaching to the young musical talent of the city in the techniques of orchestral playing and to not only offer free music education but also to create an environment and incentive to encourage young talent to continue to work at the instruments of their choice.

The orchestra performs 5-6 concerts a year in Mumbai, often in collaboration with international guest conductors and soloists, and has also performed in Sri Lanka and several other cities in India. It offers free coaching to young students interested in studying orchestral instruments. 

Due to covid, the Bombay Chamber Orchestra could not perform for the past 3 years and finally, it is back in all its glory, celebrating 60 years of the Orchestra this year! After waiting for years, members of the Orchestra and the guest artists’ performed on 13th November 2022 at Sophia Bhabha Hall. The guest artists for this concert were the very famous Joe Yamaji, the conductor and Daniele Buccio, from Germany, the pianist for the orchestra, performing on the Steinway Concert Grand, Model D!

 

Mr Joe Yamaji has appeared in 25 countries and worked with professional orchestras worldwide. Mr Yamaji’s work covers the field of youth orchestras and community orchestras. He was the chairperson of the Music Department Orchestra Conductor at the Sheng-te Christian College in Taiwan and is currently the Music Director of Taoyuan City Jungli Youth Orchestra Association in Taiwan and the vice-chairman of the World Federation of Amateur Orchestras (WFAO).

“One of the reasons why the 5th symphony is loved all over the world is that the music successfully expresses the feeling of conflict that we all experience in our daily lives. It is a breathtaking journey from anger and despair to triumph and hope.” ~  Joe Yamaji

 

Daniele Buccio has been performing solo recitals since 1997. In 2010, he published the recording Dettagli e ritagli for the Bongiovanni label in Bologna, 69 piano pieces dedicated to him by Luigi Verdi. Among his most recent projects are the public performances of piano works by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Igor Miklachevsky, and Marina Scriabine, and the complete Lisztian transcriptions of Beethoven’s nine symphonies.

“I have published a dissertation on the history of Gestalt Psychology in Music. Have you ever wondered why Beethoven’s 9th is called a 'symphony' whereas the creaking of a chair is called a 'noise'? Gestalt theory demonstrates why certain sounds are musical while others are perceived as unpleasant.” ~ Daniele Buccio

When asked about the Steinway Pianos and why he preferred performing on it, he said, “Apart from the gorgeous tone and precise response, I appreciate the way Steinway Pianos are always well maintained. This is a testimony to the fact that a Steinway is able to hold on to regulation and tuning far longer than the other pianos”.

 

Both artists performed at the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Orchestra with members from the same. The theatre was almost entirely booked and the Orchestra received a lot of love from all their fans that eagerly awaited this concert! Take a look at a few of the pictures from the concert below!