OV Sarnen and young musicians perform at the DV opening concert
The Sarnen Orchestra Association will soon be welcoming delegates from all over Switzerland to the EOV's 103rd AGM. For the opening concert on June 17, the OV is counting on reinforcement from the youth orchestra and the youngest string players in Obwalden.
The host orchestra association Sarnen (OVS) and the students of the Obwalden music schools are delighted to welcome the delegates to the 103rd EOV Delegates' Assembly in Sarnen on June 17 with a cheerful matinee concert. Playing music together with youngsters and adults at the Hotel Krone will be a wonderful demonstration of what an enriching and intergenerational hobby orchestral playing can be. Doris Estermann-Renzler, director of the youth orchestra and the children's ensembles, and Luca Fiorini, conductor of the Sarnen OV, will give a short performance together and also play their instruments.
The youngest performers learn to play the violin with Estermann-Renzler according to the Suzuki method, which uses the principles of native language acquisition. The cornerstones of this method are an early start, learning by ear, weekly individual and group lessons from the very beginning, as well as support for the learning process from an accompanying adult. Some of these children are only four to five years old and only started lessons a few months ago.
Orchestral concerts and masses
The Sarnen Orchestra Association, on the other hand, is somewhat older. Its roots go back to 1930. At that time, it was part of the Harmonie Sarnen music society, which consisted of a church choir, orchestra and field band. The first orchestra society was formed in 1939. However, the outbreak of war put an end to the project. In 1952, Richard Voegeli was elected as the new music director in Sarnen. He began to systematically build up the orchestra and held well-prepared orchestral concerts every year. The orchestra was also called upon to perform at orchestral masses and church concerts. In 1964, the current orchestra society was founded by establishing statutes. After the retirement of Richard Voegeli in 1980, Josef Gnos, who also successfully conducted the Sarnen field music for more than 20 years, took over the orchestra society and led it until the end of 2006. From 2007 to 2008, it was under the leadership of Dominik Kiefer and since 2009 Luca Fiorini has been at the conductor's desk.
The orchestra association has 28 active members in the current association year 2023. The youngest have only recently joined us from the youth orchestra, while some of the older generation have been involved in the association for 60 years or more. Even founding members are still with us. Many players have remained loyal to the OVS for decades. Without them, the OVS would no longer exist in its current form.
We perform two concerts every year; one in spring or summer and a traditional Advent concert always on December 8th in the beautiful church in Stalden. The concerts are usually very well attended and the generous collections cover at least part of our expenses.
Since 2009 with conductor Luca Fiorini
In addition to the difficulty of reaching and integrating young talent, the club is also increasingly burdened by financial concerns. That is why we are always on the lookout for sponsors, patrons and patronage members. The corona years have also taken their toll on the OVS, and we are glad that we were able to overcome these difficult times together.
It is very important to the board and all members of the association that our association continues to exist and that we can inspire people in the Obwalden region with our music. We have already had the pleasure of having young musicians, mostly from the Sarnen music school, perform with us as soloists at many concerts. We also continue to accompany the Harmonie Sarnen church choir at four orchestral masses a year and engage wind players and other musicians from the region for our concerts.
Since 2009, we have been able to call Luca Fiorini, a thoroughbred musician, our conductor. He challenges and encourages us with his professional, humorous manner and drives us to peak performance. We are enormously grateful to him for all the time and patience he invests in the orchestra and for always making the long journey from Basel. We also always enjoy performing his own compositions or orchestral arrangements.
Jonathan Gaus has also been our esteemed concertmaster since 2009. As a professional musician
He not only teaches at various music schools, but also plays actively in many formations such as the 21st Century Orchestra and the
LED Farmers with. We really appreciate his calm and positive manner.
We are all looking forward to working with the young musicians at the DV of the EOV and hope that we can enchant all guests with our music.
Angelika Marugg
... is a board member and violinist with the Sarnen Orchestra Association.
Doris Estermann-Renzler
... is a violinist, director of the youth orchestra of the canton of Obwalden and teaches according to the Suzuki method.
The Sarnen Orchestra Association and pupils of the Obwalden music schools will musically welcome the delegates to the 103rd Delegates' Assembly of the EOV on Sat, 17.06.2023 at 10.30 am at the Hotel Krone in Sarnen.
