Strings

When the Rizoma Project launched in 2022 in São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau, I knew we were embarking on an ambitious journey. Our goal was clear: to establish social orchestras in communities with limited resources and significant social challenges. 

Ten years ago, violinist Sophie Till was in Scotland working with players from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I was there too, attending her sessions and participating in a lesson. When I returned to In Harmony Liverpool, I did so feeling that Sophie’s work would soon change the way we taught our young string players.

As 2024 drew to a close, the Boston String Academy celebrated the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly with a performance at Carnegie Hall alongside Boston Conservatory’s Venus Quartet.

Sinfonia do Bairro, a Lisbon-based ensemble founded by Mariana Pinto, recently celebrated a major milestone with their first international tour to Paris.

As I pen this, I find myself looking through some of the session schedules of prominent convenings in our field over the course of the next several months. Many of these gatherings have their anchored purpose clarified and grounded—and, on paper, this is truly inspiring! However, it’s unfortunate to see that many of the topics are the same as those we discussed two, three, or four seasons ago. We continue to address the same problems, instead of new, compounded issues that we all must rally around, to course-correct.

Side by Side is now accepting applications for their international music camp in Gothenburg, Sweden through January 28.

Ron Davis Alvarez, Director of The Dream Orchestra in Gothenburg, Sweden, was nominated as one of the five finalists in the 2024 CNN “Heroes” contest sponsored by the United States-based multinational Cable News Network (CNN). The contest features “inspiring people who have found unique ways to help others,” and aims to elevate awareness of inspirational work by people around the world.

The Ensemble Executive Editor Patrick Scafidi recently interviewed Ron via email.

Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim shared some powerful words in a recent interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, sharing how musicians can pave the way toward cultural understanding during times of conflict.

There are many ensembles made up of family members. But have you ever encountered an entire orchestra where every musician feels like a sibling? The Accra Youth Sinfonietta, a youth music program in a small town near Accra, Ghana, is one such orchestra. What makes this ensemble especially familial is that the children not only make music together—they also live together at a children’s home called Kinder Paradise. Many of the children in residence have suffered abuse or neglect and have spent time in unhoused circumstances.

Something genuinely new in Bolivia’s classical music scene is happening here. The last decade has seen a new generation of enthusiastic Bolivian music students and teachers who are notably increasing the size of Bolivian audiences for classical music. As a result, self-managed orchestras have become commonplace not only in Cochabamba but across Bolivia.