Oruro Philharmonic and Urubicha Symphonic win the II National "Music to Grow" Contest for Youth Orchestras

For the jury of the II National "Music to Grow" Contest for Youth Orchestras of Bolivia, the task of choosing the winners was hard and complex, as the level of the interpretations of each one of the five finalists in the closing concert was very high. After a lengthy deliberation, the Oruro Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Urubicha Symphonic Youth Orchestra obtained first place in the Chamber and Symphonic categories, respectively. 

Enrique Garcia, CAF's Executive President, expressed his admiration for the show provided by young Bolivian musicians, and highlighted that this contest does not evaluate only the musical skill and technical work, but also the social work and the transforming role of music on children and youths that make up the participating orchestras. 

The concert captivated the public who assembled at the Los Tajibos Hotel in the city of Santa Cruz, especially during the epilogue of the presentation, when close to 300 musicians, including members of the orchestras and choral singers acted as special guests, interpreting Handel's Hallelujah. 

The members of the jury agreed that the quality of the music of the orchestras has registered an evident improvement, and that the level both in the previous workshop and the closing concert of the contest stands out. 

The contest is organized by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, the Ministry of Cultures and Tourism of Bolivia, the Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of Santa Cruz, and the Departmental Government of Santa Cruz, sponsored mainly by the Banco Nacional de Bolivia. The initiative is framed within the Music to Grow program promoted by the financial institution since 2000, which encourages the use of music as a tool for the transformation of children and youths in a vulnerable situation in the region. 

The Jury was made up by Gaston Arce, Nazario Tirado and Freddy Terrazas, renowned Bolivian musicians and professionals. The orchestras were made up by a total of 196 musicians belonging to the departments of Santa Cruz, Oruro and Tarija; two in the symphonic category (Tarija's Departmental and Urubicha's Youth Orchestras), and three in the chamber orchestra category (Philharmonic of Oruro, Paz y Bien Children and Youth Orchestra, and  San Jose de Chiquitos Municipal Strings Orchestra).

The FASSIV Orchestras of the San Ignacio de Velasco and Santiago de Chiquitos Social Help Foundations, which did not classify to the finals, received a special diploma. The first, for its social inclusion work and the latter for best orchestra performance.  

The II Youth Orchestras Contest was also sponsored by the Ingenio Azucarero Guabira (Sugar Refinery), the Hotel Los Tajibos, The Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services, and Tourism of Santa Cruz (CAINCO), the Plurinational Culture Center of Santa Cruz, the Asociacion Pro Arte y Cultura (APAC) (Pro Art and Culture Association), i3 Impacto Social, CEDES Bolivia, and the newspaper El Deber.