Orchestral Training
Applications Open for Youth Orchestra Summer Programs
Two outstanding youth orchestra programs are now accepting applications for their summer camps.
Sinfónica Azteca: Empowering Young Musicians Across Mexico, the Americas, and Beyond
Adrián Nájera-Coto, Sinfónica Azteca Project Manager, Orchestra of the Americas Group
The story of Sinfónica Azteca begins about five years ago, when the world was just beginning to reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the globe, music programs and youth orchestras were struggling to survive. The need to restore trust in live music and reignite enthusiasm among young musicians had never been greater.
In Mexico, this posed a double challenge, since we had always lacked a national youth orchestra capable of uniting the country’s young musicians in high-caliber, immersive artistic experiences.
Child’s Play India’s Glass is Half-Full, Half-Empty
Dr. Luis Dias, Founder/Director, Child’s Play India Foundation in Goa, India
Unlike more privileged settings, we could not make the switch to online teaching; we did try it, but most of our children did not have their own phones, and there were other issues, such as out of tune instruments, strings broken, and instruments outgrown. When the lockdown eventually lifted, many of our children had moved out of area or progressed to higher mainstream education which took them away from music lessons, either geographically or in terms of available time. We have had to start over, with new groups of children for violin and cello.
But there is also good news to balance things out.
EDITORIAL
Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of El Sistema Venezuela
Rodrigo Guerrero, Staff Specialist for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Babson College, Massachusetts, USA; former Associate Director of International Relations and Institutional Development, El Sistema Venezuela
The Venezuela of 1975 is in sharp contrast to its current reality. Fifty years ago, the country was fully reconstructed after an oppressive military dictatorship and on track for economic growth. That was the context in which a young, brilliant composer and conductor, who also happened to be a gifted politician, used his combined talents to convince the government to support something that felt out of place to officialdom, but, in his vision, right at home.
National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras For All
Isaac Sinnett, Senior Associate Director, Ravinia Reach Teach Play
On the evening of July 10, the Ravinia Festival’s historic Pavilion stage glowed with the combined talents of the 130 students of National Seminario Ravinia. It was the final night of the 2024 Seminario, just in its second year. Students aged 11–18 from 43 El Sistema-inspired organizations around the world—including those from 17 U.S. states, Mexico, Canada, Greece, and Sweden—had gathered for four days of intensive orchestral training and mentorship from members of the Seminario Orchestra Partner, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F). For many of the students, it was their first time having such an experience.
