Tarija and San José de Chiquitos winners in the I Youth Orchestra Competition

(La Paz, December 18, 2013). The master concert that closed the First National Competition of Youth Orchestras of BoliviaMusic to Grow,took place on Friday the 13th, in the La Mansion Church in Santa Cruz. In an environment full of emotions, talent, and youth, the winners were defined for the symphonic and strings categories. The winners were the Orquesta Sinfónica Departamental de Tarija(Departmental Symphonic Orchestra of Tarija) and the Orquesta de cuerdas San José Patriarca( San Jose Patriarca String Orchestra)from San José de Chiquitos.              

The objective of the competition was to demonstrate the advances achieved in the area of music in Bolivia, and sensitize other actors, both public and private, regarding the potential of musical training as a social transformation tool. Due to the success achieved, the competition will take place annually, according to CAF's Executive President, Enrique Garcia, who was present in the event. 

Executive President Garcia said "I am very satisfied, filled with emotions, it has been a wonderful evening, first because of the youths' motivation, and secondly due to their technical quality, the effort, and enthusiasm. We know it has been difficult to win, as each presentation has been excellent". 

For Garcia, this is an incentive to continue working to strengthen the orchestra systems in Bolivia, an issue with which CAF is very committed in Latin America, "we will continue to work with the maestros and the conservatories, in addition to integrating all the departments and repeat this competition periodically". 

The competition is an initiative of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, the Federación de Empresarios Privados de Santa Cruz (FEPSZ) (Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of Santa Cruz), the World Bank (WB), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Bolivia, the Government of the Department of Santa Cruz, the Municipal Government of Santa Cruz, the Consejo Empresarial para el Desarrollo Sostenible (CEDES Bolivia) (Entrepreneurial Council for Sustainable Development), and i3 Impacto Social. 

The Executive President of the Institution informed that "the competition is organized in the framework of the Music to Grow  program that CAF promotes since the year 2000 in the region, encouraging the use of music as a social transformation tool, contributing with the comprehensive training of children and youths who live in poverty. It  is within these policies that the contest was carried out in Bolivia". 

The awards

The departmental Symphonic Orchestra of Tarija (symphonic category) and the San Jose Patriarca Orchestra of San Jose de Chiquitos (string category) received Bs. 42,000 each, while the Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Urubicha, the Youth Chamber Orchestra Paz y Bien from San Ignacio de Velasco, and the Chamber Orchestra from the Philharmonic Orchestra of Oruro, all finalists, had the opportunity to participate in an orchestral training workshop imparted by maestros of the Orchestra Systems of Venezuela for five days, from January 8 to January 13, together with more than 180 musicians, including directors and teachers. 

Venezuelan teachers Luis Guillermo Pérez Palencia, Solangel Katiuska Yustiz Rodríguez, Richard Urbano and Borgan Ascanio worked the repertoire technically for the final concert, so the methodology for the musicians was to learn by playing. 

An innovative characteristic which stands out is that not only the musical skills and technical work of the orchestras were evaluated, but the social work and the transforming role for children and youths from low income backgrounds in their communities was given an important weight. 

Evaluation criteria

Six technical musical criteria were considered for the final evaluation: 

• Tuning: Sound vibration based on A, 440Hz or 442Hz to relate it to all the degrees of the scale.
• Balance: Balanced sound between the elements that constitute the musical structure.
• Phrasing and Articulation: Metric unit with a musical sense, which is understandable in the clarity and transition (articulation) from one sound to another.  
• Flexibility and expressiveness: Capacity to model the sound language to transmit, communicate, and create emotions. Musical element that depends on the personal response which varies according to the performers.
• Coherence in the Musical Discourse: Logic relationship between the different sound structures that make the musical piece understandable.
• Precision: Accuracy in the reading of the musical sheets in relation to the work written by the composer.