Cultural Exchange
Learning through Teaching with the AIM Firebirds
Pablo Millanes, AIM Specialist and Strategy; Director of External Relations and Marketing, Reina Sofia School of Music, Madrid, Spain
This past July, the warmth of the Portuguese summer and the backdrop of the Lisbon sea welcomed a diverse group of teachers and young musicians from social action music programs across more than ten countries. Amidst varied accents and curious glances, a shared energy became palpable—the excitement of face to face meetings among people who had been able to interact with one another only virtually during their four months of preparation. There was also the shared enthusiasm of people doing what they love most: teaching and making music together.
The Citizens of the World Festival
Lauren Rausch, YOLA National Festival Violin Faculty
For the last eight years, I’ve coached violinists for the YOLA National Festival. Each summer, it is a remarkable thing to walk into the first sectional on the first day and witness an exceptional level of preparation from 18 violinists who, for the most part, don’t know each other and have never played together—a group of students that have made a commitment to each other before even meeting one another. This is what defines the YOLA National Festival: the dedication and integrity of all participants, a spirit that lives in the YNF students and also in the staff and the incredible faculty who return each summer. It is a special and profoundly devoted community, something I have not witnessed elsewhere.
World Orchestra Week at Carnegie Hall
James Ross, Orchestra Director, NYO-USA and NYO2-USA; Music Director, Alexandria Symphony, VA, USA; Director of Orchestral Studies, Curtis Institute of Music
Carnegie Hall’s World Orchestra Week festival in August was a week of one “WOW!” after another, as seven youth orchestras from five different continents joined forces in and around Carnegie Hall to play for and with each other, to share singular musical works and ethos from their countries, and to show us all what the next generation’s Wishes for Our World might be.
Bridging Cultural Identities through Music
Fenia Biniari, Communications Manager, El Sistema Greece, Alexandros Gkonis, Greek composer, and Hasan Labendz, musician, El Sistema Greece
An artist’s creative process is one of the most intriguing aspects of a composition—a giant basket of sights, sounds, ideas, and sensations that bring inspiration. But how do artists select and interpret these elements? And if they really are so personal to us, what happens when we share the contents of those baskets with others?
At El Sistema Greece, the B-Me: Blending Melodies – Bridging Cultural Identities project has given us a window into that process.
