| For this young musician, a challenging schedule is nothing more than a regular part of performing. Adam Wąsiel, a Sydney Conservatorium of Music student, returned recently from a demanding tour of Germany and the Czech Republic, playing with the SBS Radio & Television Youth Orchestra.
The tour, which began on September 25 and concluded on October 6, featured performances in Munich, Bayreuth, Weimer, Leipzig, Dresden, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) and Prague.
The 59 touring members of the orchestra, aged 12-24, played in various concert halls to audiences of approximately 100-150. Of the entire orchestra, Adam was the only Pole representing Australia.
The concerts were tailored to each country’s national style, and included works from some of their most renowned players. In Germany, for example, the repertoire comprised two pieces by Wagner (a Romance and an aria from Tannhäuser) and Brahms’s second symphony. In the Czech Republic, a Dvořák rondo for cello was played.
Adam says the reactions to the performances were very positive, and that audiences particularly appreciated the national pieces.
Despite the tight schedule, the orchestra found time to visit to many famous landmarks, including the Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Bayreuth Festival Theatre), Wagner’s house in Bayreuth, St. Thomas Church in Leipzig (where Bach was a cantor) and numerous other churches.
However, the most amusing moment for Adam was the ‘disappearance’ of one of the group’s members.
“One guy got lost in Munich, looking for Oktoberfest. He had to catch a train to our hotel, which was 30-40km away, and the whole train system was in German,” he says.
For Adam, it was also refreshing to experience Europe's very different musical landscape.
“Europe is soaked in culture and Europeans value culture a lot,” he says. “Munich, for example, has five to six orchestras in one town. Because they [the towns] are denser, there is more demand for classical music.” | 
