A completely new eighth edition of the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra ONLINE

This unique musical project initiated in 2013, as part of the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Witold Lutosławski. Every year the Mieczyslaw Karlowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin invites young musicians from Poland and other European countries to their headquarters to see the work of the orchestra's patron under the guidance of renowned instrumentalists and educators. The culmination of the weekly work of the project participants is the final concert in the golden symphony hall of the Szczecin Philharmonic.

This year however, the Philharmonic will not have the pleasure to host the project’s participants, which does not mean that we do not invite you to work and have fun, and most importantly to gain more experience.

For the eighth edition, all participants remain in their homes and from there they will connect via the Internet and improve their music workshop under the tutelage of great tutors, instrumentalists and educators. During the August workshops, the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra will work with the 4th part of the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven and with compositions by composers from the Visegrad Group countries, including the patron of our project Witold Lutosławski. The final concert of the ILYO 2020 project will be a joint preparation of a video-audio recording of all these compositions. The grand finale will take place from August 28-30, 2020. Conditions might not be perfect, but we know you are up to the challenge!

During the eighth edition of the ILYO 2020 project, we will also be accompanied by Rune Bergmann – Artistic Director and Conductor of the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. There will also be other online meetings and tutorials that will enrich your knowledge and help in further musical development. In the grand finale of L. van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony we will also hear esteemed soloists and the choir of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

The International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra in Szczecin – the eighth edition is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.