Darwin musician Jethro Llewellyn selected for Australian Youth Orchestra

A Darwin French horn player has been selected to represent the NT in the Australian Youth Orchestra.

After only picking up the French horn 18 months ago, a Darwin student has been invited to join the Australian Youth Orchestra.

Darwin High School Year 10 student Jethro Llewellyn will take his passion for music to new scales with the AYO’s training pathways.

The passionate virtuoso has followed music as an expressive outlet for years after growing up in a musical family.

Mr Llewellyn said he was feeling “really excited” about the opportunity to hone his skills on the French horn after a hard transition from his former instrument of choice, the trumpet, which he had played for five years.

“The instruments are very different and I didn’t actually realise that at first,” he said.

“I was like, ‘surely it can’t be too hard’ – I guess it was just surprising to see how different it is and how awkward it is.”

Darwin High School Year 10 student Jethro Llewellyn has been selected to represent the NT in the Australian Youth Orchestra and play the French horn.

Mr Llewellyn hoped his opportunity with the AYO would take him one step closer to his dream of playing with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

“My dad was a professional bassoon player when he was mid-20s,” Mr Llewellyn said.

“I found out (about the AYO) through my dad, who also did it when he was a teenager.”

AYO chief executive Kimbali Harding said the program was targeted towards building the skills of young Australian musicians aged between 12 and 30.

Ms Harding said the program had a low student-teacher ratio to ensure the highest possible level of learning and training.

“Our close work with industry also leads to excellent employment outcomes, with many students going into orchestral and non-orchestral careers like sound production, orchestral management, or composition,” she said.