International ‘Chords of Harmony’ Resound in Barcelona

 
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International ‘Chords of Harmony’ Resound in Barcelona

Tricia Tunstall, Advisory Editor and Co-Founder, The Ensemble, with “Chords of Harmony” participants

07-10-2024

Conductor (and former Dudamel Fellow) Rodolpho Barráez working with students at ESMUC. Photo: Charo Mangas.

“Throughout the entire concert, the young musicians were free to laugh. And so was the audience…Music was being felt and lived in another sphere.”

Isn’t this a description of how we would all love our students to experience music, at some point in their learning journey?

These are the words of Tzempen Klapakis, Strings Coordinator of the El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra, describing the culminating event of “Chords of Harmony,” an extraordinary musical/social convening that took place in Barcelona, Spain on May 24-27, 2024.

Students arriving for rehearsal. Photo: Charo Mangas.

The participants were 189 youth and children from 18 music education for social impact programs across eight countries in two hemispheres. They came to make music together and to engage in workshop dialogue and reflection about what music means, for them and for the world. The event was co-presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and four Spanish organizations: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Palau de la Música Orfeó Catalá, Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña (ESMUC), and Accion por la Música Foundation.

The LA Phil has been supporting El Sistema-inspired convenings on a variety of levels ever since Gustavo Dudamel became its music director in 2009. And Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) students have toured alongside the LA Phil for the past ten years, sharing YOLA’s message of music’s transformative power with international audiences.

But “Chords of Harmony” was an especially aspirational endeavor. The students hailed from Spain, Venezuela, Greece, Scotland, the U.S., Sweden, Portugal, Switzerland, and France—so communication was a constant challenge. And many of the Venezuelan participants were members of the Coro de Manos Blancas (El Sistema Venezuela’s White Hands Choir), composed of hearing musicians, who are singing, and deaf musicians who “sing” with the choreographed movements of their white-gloved hands.

Venezuelan conductor (and former first viola of SBSOV) working with students at ESMUC (photo Charo Mangas)

The conveners created a multi-faceted experience for the student musicians. During their three days of rehearsal, the students were also taking part in leadership and social workshops that were co-curated by an LA Phil team headed by Camille Delaney-McNeil, Director of the YOLA/YOLA Beckman Center, together with Maria Guerrero Sanz, President/Founder of Accion por la Musicá. In these workshops, said Maria, “Each participant was asked to reflect on what makes them feel truly alive, allowing them to connect with their deeper selves, others, nature, and the transcendent aspects of existence….then, participants were encouraged to share their thoughts with others..and, together, to write a bold statement for the future.”

Camille said, “Beyond this, it was also a moment for participants to reflect on the inspiration for Beethoven during this time, particularly related to his ‘Egmont’ Overture, which they were rehearsing together. The concepts of freedom and justice were explored, and how they apply today to what the young musicians wanted to declare for the world.”

Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Chords of Harmony musicians and Coro Manos Blancas at Palau de la Musica Catalana, Barcelona, May 2024. Photo: Charo Mangas.

The students also had the chance to attend the dress rehearsal of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio, in which the massed forces of the L.A. Phil orchestra teamed up with Deaf West Theater and the Coro de Manos Blancas; it was sung in German and featured deaf actors performing in sign language. (This production premiered in Los Angeles and headlined the L.A. Phil’s 2024 European tour.)

The students’ final concert was an open rehearsal and community celebration led by Gustavo Dudamel, with orchestral players joined by young musicians from the Coro de Manos Blancas and the Spanish programs Palau Vincles and Xamfrá. The music they performed included Beethoven’s “Egmont” Overture and his “Ode to Joy”; “Sonata Piano e Forte” by Giovanni Gabrieli; and Adriá Aguilera’s “Deferent.”

The Ensemble reached out to some of the attendees to learn about their experiences in Barcelona. Here are some highlights:

About the rehearsals (held in Barcelona’s conservatory, ESMUC):

Sandra Janiszewska, of Scotland’s Lochside Academy, said, “I enjoyed rehearsals the most: playing together and hearing all the different sections.” Maria Drelich, also from Lochside, added, “I loved the conductor (Barráez), because he was so dramatic! I understood what he wanted from us.”

Giannis, from El Sistema Greece, said, “I exchanged opinions about music with others…I learned new ways of understanding music, and also new ways of studying it.”

Said a student from Portugal’s Orquestra Geracao: “The work with teachers, during sectionals, and with the conductors was very interesting, and it was enriching to rehearse with people with hearing impairments.” 

Mary Elizalde, from the L.A. Phil’s YOLA Institute Symphony Orchestra, noted that “during the rehearsals, as well as the final concert, you could not tell our differences by any means, as music was our universal language. Thanks to our teachers and mentors, we executed the music just as we would any other day, through movement, collaboration, and communication, and it was lovely to see how musical ideas translate so similarly between young musicians around the world.”

About the workshops:

Students in a social reflection workshop. Photo: Charo Mangas.

“I found our group discussions different and refreshing,” said one student from Orquestra Geracao. Another said, “This process helped us realize that internships aren’t just about music; they’re also about motivation to make the world a better place.”

Students from El Sistema Greece agreed. “I think it’s important to raise awareness in younger generations,” said Giannis, “and music is the best way to accomplish that.” Eleni added, “Discussing societal issues was definitely important, as music has the power to overcome any social problem.”

Mary Elizalde, from YOLA in the U.S., said that her discussion group did some creative alteration of the assignment: “My team and I decided to redefine what peace means to us as musicians…to focus on peace in the mind and body within music education.”

Some of the many insights and convictions the young musicians shared, and the many goals they agreed upon, were collected and put forth in the form of a Chords of Harmony Declaration. “Music is not just a melody,” it proclaims, “it is a symphony of hope. It is a call to protect our planet and secure the future of generations to come.”

About the culminating event:

The final performance was in the form of an open rehearsal in Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica Catalana, a modern landmark building of dynamic shapes and lavish ornamentation. Maria, from Scotland, said she was thrilled by “the scenery, architecture, and hall we performed in.”

A student from Geracao summed up students’ reactions to the event with notable understatement: “We had the opportunity to have an open rehearsal with Maestro Dudamel—an opportunity we don’t have every day.”

Here’s Mary Elizalde, from her YOLA perspective of more familiarity with the Maestro: 

“It was surreal how the orchestra reacted to seeing the Maestro…he is huge on specifics, particularly the execution of accents and dynamics. It was great to see how eagerly and quickly everyone caught on; it was like a spark lit up in them when he walked into the room, which helped all his notes and comments shine.”

Overall, said Mary, Chords of Harmony in Barcelona was “the greatest musical experience I have ever had”—a sentiment clearly shared by all.

“We were all connected,” said El Sistema Greece’s Eleni, “by our love for music.”

Greek teaching artist Tzempen Klapakis noted that “by living and playing with young people of the world, they feel more world citizens and less citizens of small societies. They understand better that we all, in fact, are pretty much alike. Music is kindness.”

And YOLA’s Camille Delaney-McNeil spoke of the event’s profound lasting impact: “What was absolutely thrilling, in addition to the incredible music-making, was to see the power of speaking to the future, and how music can shape that. This group and their generation will be here 30 years from now and will be able to look back and find inspiration and grounding in the commitments they have made here, with music, to themselves and to each other.”

Acción por la Música Foundation, Barcelona, Camille Delaney-McNeil, Chords of Harmony, Chords of Harmony Declaration, Coro de Manos Blancas, Deaf West Theater, El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra, Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña, ESMUC, France, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Greece, Gustavo Dudamel, July/August 2024, Lochside Academy, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Maria Guerrero Sanz, Mary Elizalde, Music Education for Social Impact, Orquestra Geração, Palau de la Música Orfeó Catalá, Portugal, Rodolpho Barráez, Sandra Janiszewska, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tzempen Klapakis, U.S., Venezuela, Workshop, YOLA, YOLA Institute Symphony Orchestra, YOLA/YOLA Beckman Center

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