INSTITUTIONAL GREETINGS
Sinfonisches BlasOrchester Retz HISTORY OF THE BAND A wind band founded in 2003, the SBO Retz is made up of 50 active members whose average age is 24. Retz is a small town with about 10,000 inhabitants located in the District of Hollabrunn, Lower Austria, close to the border with the Czech Republic. The band was founded in 2003 by its director, Gerhard Forman, with the aim of encouraging the development of young musicians aged between 15 and 30 in the Lower Austria region. The average age of the band members at that time was 15. In just a few years the SBO Retz has become one of the most famous wind bands in the country. It has won the Special Prize from the Regional Government of Lower Austria and the Special Prize from the Government of Austria, always maintaining an international wind band repertoire. After taking part in these national competitions, the band enjoys a prestigious reputation in Austria and is gaining international recognition since winning the renowned international contest, the “Flicorno d´Oro” in Italy, becoming the first Austrian orchestra to do so. In 2012 the SBO Retz took part in the “Internationale Musiktage Vöcklabruck”, where they won on points in Division Two and received the “Windstab”. The SBO Retz is conducted by Gerhard Forman who, over the last few years, has managed to give the band an extraordinary sound. BIOGRAPHY OF THE CONDUCTOR Gerhard FormanGerhard Forman is the artistic director of the SBO Retz. He possesses not only remarkable technical knowledge and considerable professional experience, but also teaching skills, which have created the band's unique character, giving it a genuine personality which is as much acoustic as it is human and musical. He studied instrumental teaching, specializing in horn, at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien). He graduated with distinction. His conducting classes were taught by Johannes Prinz, Herwig Reiter and Alois Glassner. He attended courses in conducting taught by Robert Reynolds, Jan Cober, Patrick Jones and Carolos Trikolidis, among others.
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