Youth Orchestra Festival 2026 Grand Finale
With the end of summer in sight, the Festival Orchestre Giovanili (Youth Orchestra Festival) is coming to a close, however, one show remains. On Wednesday, August 26, the Jugendsinfonieorchester der Musikschule Bochum (Bochum Music School Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Norbert Koop will perform the series’s final concert in Piazza della Signoria. The event, which is free, will begin in the evening at 9 pm.
The Bochum Music School Symphony Orchestra is a top-tier group from Germany that was founded in 1974 by violinist and conductor, Guido Van Den Bosch. The group’s musicians range in age from 13 to 30, it offers talented students the opportunity to expand their repertoire and refine their musical skills.
The group has toured internationally in countries such as Spain, Austria, Ukraine, Albania, the United States, and Italy where they have performed in Tuscany three times. Notably, they have won first place in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia State Orchestra Competition five times in a row.
The orchestra’s current conductor and Van Den Bosch’s successor, Norbert Koop has guided the group since 1999. Koop and the orchestra have participated twice in the European Youth Music Festival, Linz in 2009 and Emilia-Romagna in 2012. In 2024, the ensemble celebrated the Bochum Music School Symphony Orchestra’s 50th anniversary with a special concert at the Anneliese Brost Music Forum in Marienplatz.
Wednesday’s program will include four different pieces, a mix of works by classical and contemporary composers. The concert will begin with the overture from Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Following will be Fantasia su La Traviata composed by Yoel Gamzou, featuring a solo by flute player Nicholas Brockschmidt. Afterwards, the group will perform a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt titled Les Préludes. Lastly, the audience will hear Suite da Il lago dei cigni (Swan Lake), op. 20a by Tchaikovsky.
This August evening will be the perfect end to a successful season of Florence’s Youth Orchestra Festival – highly recommended if you’re in town and looking for something to do. (Francesca Negri)
