A response to two problems in music education: the Young Australian Concert Artists programme of the Australian Youth Orchestra

摘要

Two practical problems faced by national youth organisations devoted to the transmission of European classical music-making across the generations are: (1) how to assist individual pre-professional young musicians to enter their desired career path; and (2) how, in the interests of social justice, to provide access to music-educational opportunities for young people in areas of relative geographical remoteness and cultural isolation. This article analyses the effectiveness of the urban-regional interface and educational practice of one unique partial solution to the two problems: the chamber music development and regional outreach programme called Young Australian Concert Artists (YACA), presented since 1999 by the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO). The article analyses the programme's philosophical framework and its ethical and educational aims, as well as examining its logistics. The research indicates that its provider, AYO which fulfils government and private sector demands for full accountability, needs additional funding to enable it to fulfil its role in responding to the two problems. An assessment model is proposed, based on the expectations of YACA's six groups of stakeholders: AYO, the regional music centre, a pre-professional chamber group, professional tutors, the regional ensemble, and regional communities and audiences.