Sydney Youth Jazz Orchestra SYJO
Sydney Youth Jazz Orchestra is a band of 17 of Sydney’s finest jazz players up to age 25. It is the flagship ensemble of the SYJO program, a not for profit music training association dedicated to helping young musicians achieve the highest possible standards of performance. SYJO plays at the highest level, the equal of any jazz orchestra in Australia. SYJO performs a wide repertoire, covering the swing and mainstream traditions of the 1920s to today, as well as new works of contemporary Australian and international repertoire. The band often features new compositions by members of the ensemble.
The Sydney Youth Jazz Orchestra, SYJO, is a non-profit association established for the encouragement of music. Specifically, through providing a framework of outstanding jazz ensembles for students and young musicians to rehearse and perform with.
Following in the tradition of other youth jazz orchestras around the world, SYJO is set to become Australia’s foremost youth jazz orchestra. In the UK the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra for many years have all outstanding examples of the level of performance an opportunity such as this can offer. Locally the Sydney Schools Jazz Orchestra for public secondary school students and Judy Bailey’s Jazz Connection are two other youth jazz orchestras performing at a very high level. SYJO works in tandem and in cooperation with these, and the many other fine youth jazz orchestras of Sydney and Australia.
Membership of the ensembles is by audition and is open to musicians aged 30 years and under. There are three SYJO ensembles, grouped roughly by age but all auditioned on the basis of playing ability.
SYJO’s non-profit status allows it to fundraise and seek support through grants and donations in order to provide programs for its members. These include regional touring grants, artist in residence programs, support for young composers and scholarship programs for assisting young musicians to access excellent jazz education opportunities and to later establish viable careers as professional performers as alumni of the SYJO program.
An exciting initiative of SYJO is the Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra AYJO, an occasional ensemble bringing together the finest young jazz musicians in the country for collegiate rehearsals, performances and touring.
The SYJO musical director is Saul Richardson. Saul Richardson B.Ed (hons), MACE is a guitarist and bass player who graduated from the University of Sydney with First Class Honours in Education and the University Medal in 1995. He studied Jazz guitar under Steve Brien and Steve McKenna, and conducting with Jerry Nowak. He is an internationally recognized Jazz educator, and served for two years as Australasian representative on the Executive Board of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE).
Saul established and developed the renowned Jazz program at North Sydney Boys’ High School, which became widely regarded as a benchmark of excellence in its field in Australia. After 17 years of service, he retired from the position in 2011.
Saul was recognized by the IAJE at their January 2004 and 2006 conferences for his outstanding service to Jazz Education. He was a founding member of IAJE in NSW and works as a clinician, consultant and adjudicator, and lectures in Jazz Pedagogy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Enquiries about SYJO and AYJO
• Saul Richardson: saul@srjazz.com.au; 0415 648 529
• Karen Richards: Karen@jazzworkshopaustralia.com.au; (02) 9966 5468
