NEWS: OrKidstra invited to workshop in Mexico City
OrKidstra invited to workshop in Mexico City hosted by legendary conductor Gustavo Dudamel
“Encounters/Encuentros: Music Unites the Continents” is four-day intensive Art and Citizenship workshop for young musicians from across the Americas
OrKidstra is thrilled to announce that it has been invited to participate in “Encounters/Encuentros: Music Unites the Continents” in Mexico City, March 1 – 4, 2018 sponsored by The Gustavo Dudamel Foundation in association with Sistema Nacional de Fomento Musical, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes and Fondación Soñemos. The four-day intensive music and citizenship workshop will unite and inspire young people from across the Americas.
OrKidstra’s Founder and Executive & Artistic Director, Tina Fedeski, M.S.M., and OrKidstra staff member Katherine Neale, will be accompanying senior OrKidstra students Evelyn (violin), Peter (clarinet), Nancy (violin), Jennifer (viola) and Rinila (violin) – ages 14 to 18 – and OrKidstra graduate Kafele (violin) on this four-day intensive “Art and Citizenship” workshop in Mexico City. Sponsored by The Gustavo Dudamel Foundation, OrKidstra students will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and learn from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, legendary conductor Gustavo Dudamel as well as Teaching Artists and 300 students from Canada, the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile.
Participants will have the wonderful opportunity to explore the themes of harmony, equality, dignity, beauty and respect through music; only a few Sistema-inspired programs from North America have been invited to attend. The young students – many of them advanced players – will have the exciting challenge of rehearsing music by John Williams, Antonín Dvořák as well as a very special new piece composed by Arturo Márquez inspired by and dedicated to Nobel Laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai titled “Alas (a Malala).”
As the oldest Sistema inspired program outside of South America, OrKidstra‘s Founder and Executive & Artistic Director, Tina Fedeski, M.S.M., is honoured by the invitation. “I first met Gustavo Dudamel briefly when he made his remarkable debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in January 2007,” she said. “We (founders of OrKidstra Gary McMillen, Margaret Tobolowska and I) had literally, just a few weeks earlier, decided to start a Sistema-inspired program that is now known as OrKidstra! Eleven years ago, not in our wildest dreams would we have imagined this – how OrKidstra is growing and thriving and how so many Sistema-inspired programs are changing lives through music in every corner of the world. We are incredibly honoured and grateful to be given such an opportunity.”
Embarking on an eleven-concert tour, Maestro Gustavo Dudamel reunites with the legendary Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to share music with audiences across the Americas. Gustavo Dudamel believes that this four-day intensive Art and Citizenship workshop for young musicians from under-served areas will underline the belief that music has the power to unite and inspire. “We are all part of the ‘New World,’” he said. “With all the sense of youth, hope, diversity, and courage that term has represented for generations.”
Acclaimed Conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s passionate music-making continues to inspire audiences of all ages. Currently serving as Music Director of both the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the impact of his musical leadership is felt worldwide. Founded in 2012, The Gustavo Dudamel Foundation is dedicated to supporting the arts and music education as catalysts in promoting a more compassionate and just society. The Foundation’s goal is to partner with organisations around the world in promoting artistic excellence, encouraging access to great art and music, and highlighting musical participation as a key in fostering learning, understanding, and social inclusion. Learn more: https://www.dudamelfoundation.org and http://gustavodudamel.com/us-en/gustavo-vienna-philharmonic-the-americas-tour
OrKidstra is a charitable social development program for children aged 5 to 18 living in under-served areas of Ottawa, Canada. The organization’s mission is to empower kids and build community through the universal language of music. Inspired by El Sistema, OrKidstra carries out its mission by providing over 600 children, from lower-income families in Ottawa, with free group and individual music lessons and the chance to learn important life skills like respect, compassion, teamwork and responsibility through playing and singing together. Learn more: www.OrKidstra.ca
Follow @OrKidstra on Instagram for all the exciting moments from “Encounters/Encuentros: Music Unites the Continents”
