Spent a couple of days last week with the NZSO National Youth Orchestra in rehearsal at the Wellington Town Hall, for their tour with organist Cameron Carpenter.  Great to see such a dedicated bunch of musicians (regardless of their ages) enjoying themselves - but also working really hard to nail their performances.

One of the great things about photographing rehearsals is that I’m able to get right in amongst the players - well, I do have to watch out for stray bows, so I can’t get TOO close - but also it’s nice to stick with them when they take a break, and have a bit of time for individual practice on stage.  Then I can go pretty much anywhere, without getting stabbed!  (Much.)

NZSO National Youth Orchestra 11 - Images by Robert Catto

Of course, the main aim of my being there is to try to capture the intensity, energy and enthusiasm of the players for next year’s brochures & promotional materials - so, often I’ll keep a number of images of a single person, as it’s hard to know which will work best in a layout or as a group.  Which is why there are a LOT of photos in the slideshow!

These guys will be performing with Placido Domingo in Christchurch later in the year - a pretty amazing opportunity by any standards - and I’m sure they’ll rock that gig too.