Selected KENT stores across New Brunswick have been hosting members of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (NBYO) this month.

The young musicians have been playing Christmas music for Kent customers and store associates in the Bathurst, Moncton, and Saint John stores.  Not only are they providing sounds of the season; they are also raising funds to compete in an international competition in 2014.  The orchestra will represent Canada at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Competition when they return to Austria in July.

On July 5 the NBYO’s competition entry will be the world premiere of an orchestral work commissioned by the NBYO.  The original composition will mark the centennial of the beginning of World War 1 and its significance to Canada.

From the home stage of the Vienna Philharmonic, the NBYO will pay musical tribute to those who sacrificed deeply for the war and issue an orchestral call to a future built on tolerance, understanding, and dialogue.

In the meantime, the NBYO continues its 2013-14 season with performances in Campbellton (January 12), Saint John (February 9), Moncton (March 22), and Bouctouche (March 23).