The São Paulo State Youth Symphony Orchestra
Established in 1979, The São Paulo State Youth Symphony Orchestra has set as a main goal the technical and artistic development of their members. These music students are assisted in their preparation for professional life. In these past 33 years, the orchestra has been under the baton of conductors such as John Neschling, Diogo Pacheco, Bernardo Fedorowsky, Juan Serrano and João Maurício Galindo.
In 2012, The São Paulo State Youth Symphony Orchestra reached a turning point in its history. Integrated into an innovative pedagogical project of the EMESP Tom Jobim, the group underwent complete restructuring in order to become an outstanding project for educating young musicians, encouraging them to further their studies and therefore avoiding a precocious professionalization. According to the new pedagogical structure, each programme follows an intensive period of preparation, which lasts at least 60 hours. Under such a structure, both rehearsals and concerts are condensed within a period of two consecutive weeks. Another important change is that new members must now be aged 26 or under. Cláudio Cruz, a distinguished and talented maestro and concertmaster, has taken up the posts of musical director and main conductor of the orchestra.
During the 2012 season, the orchestra performed with several renowned conductors (Frank Shipway, Rolf Beck and Wladimir Ashkenazy) and soloists (Nicolai Tokarev, Jennifer Stumm and Arnaldo Cohen), and also embarked on their first European tour, taking part in the MDR Musiksommer Festival, in Germany.
The year of 2013 played a decisive part in the development of the orchestra’s artistic and pedagogical project. This season included the performance of a rather challenging repertoire as well as the participation of international soloists such as Yuzuko Horigome (violin) and Eiko Senda (soprano) from Japan, and Emmanuel Strosser (piano), Romain Guyot (clarinet) and Guillaume Bourgogne (conductor) from France. For the closing concert of the season, the orchestra welcomed one of the most distinguished Brazilian soloists, the cellist Antonio Meneses. Another important event was the official opening concert performed by the orchestra fellows along with German youth players, in the “Year of Germany in Brazil 2013-2014”, at Theatro Municipal, in São Paulo. Furthermore, the orchestra set off on their second tour in Europe, to perform at the Young Euro Classic, an annual festival that takes place in Berlin and traditionally gathers the best youth orchestras worldwide.
Renowned international soloists are taking part in the ongoing 2014 season. In the opening season, the orchestra performed alongside the English soprano Julia Thornton. Later on, the group took part in the Música em Trancoso Festival. The young musicians have now the chance of playing along soloist such as pianist Paulo Álvares, the American violist Jennifer Stumm – who already performed with the group, in 2012 – and the French cellist Marc Coppey, conducted by the guest maestro George Stelluto, professor at the Juilliard School. For the third consecutive year, the orchestra will be performing in Europe. They will participate in the Berlioz Festival, in France, and also at the Grachtenfestival, in Amsterdam.
Santa Marcelina Cultura
Established in 2008, the Santa Marcelina Cultura social organization runs two of the São Paulo State Government’s musical education programmes in the São Paulo metropolitan area, reaching out to 20 million inhabitants: Guri – which includes the Children and Youth Groups and the Musical Horizons series – and the São Paulo State Music School (EMESP Tom Jobim) – consisting of Youth Groups, the Opera Studio, the Early Music Nucleus and the Camerata Aberta. From 2009 to 2011, Santa Marcelina Cultura was also responsible for the Campos do Jordão International Winter Festival. Their goal is to create a virtuous cycle in musical education in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, integrated with a solid social-cultural inclusion programme, in order to achieve their objectives: educating people – for life and for society.