Everyone given a chance to exhibit

Capriccio italien - Tchaikovsky

Violin Concerto - Khachaturian

Comedians Suite - Kabalevsky

Symphony No 1 - Shostakovich

The National Youth Orchestra of Ireland Under 18s is the new name adopted by the Junior NYOI. On Saturday in the National Concert Hall, it gave the last of three concerts which were the culmination of the latest residential course. (The first and second concerts were in Waterford and Limerick on Thursday and Friday.)

The all-Russian programme was good in its own right and in its suitability for an orchestra of this kind. A concerto presented the challenges of accompanimental playing and, because the soloist was young and Irish - a former member of this orchestra - it set an example of what can be achieved.

There were orchestral character pieces, offering every section of the orchestra a chance to exhibit; and there was a substantial symphony to test technical and interpretative powers.

Nicky Sweeney's command of the solo part in Khachaturian's Violin Concerto was impressive.

However, some places in the first movement needed to relax and sound like what they were - interludes and connecting passages. In that respect, the rondo finale was much better. The slow movement made the strongest impression.

There Sweeney achieved a striking variety of tone, and the accompanying from a slimmed-down orchestra - around half the full complement of 102 - had that responsiveness which comes from listening to the soloist, as well as watching the conductor.

Throughout the concert, conductor Gearoid Grant showed his characteristic mix of control and informality. [