Five orchestras selected in the "Music to Grow" contest

(La Paz). The five finalist of the First National Contest for Youth Orchestras in Bolivia "Music to Grow" were selected. The performances of Oruro, Tarija, and Santa Cruz achieved the highest scores based on the evaluation criteria.

The contest is a joint initiative of CAF -Development Bank of Latin America-, the Santa Cruz Federation of Private Entrepreneurs (Fepsz, for its acronym in Spanish), the Word Bank (WB), and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Bolivia, and is supported by the Government of the Department of Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Municipal Government, the Entrepreneurial Council for Sustainable Development (Cedes Bolivia), and Social Impact.

The three members of the jury, Ana María del Carpio, Grace Rodríguez and Freddy Terrazas, who are well known Bolivian musicians, evaluated each orchestra in their respective cities, in a live presentation based on a score of 100 points. They measured the tuning, balance, phrasing and articulation, precision, flexibility and expressiveness, and coherence in the musical discourse. Added to these technical criteria is that of social inclusion, which is a key element in the philosophy of CAF's "Music to Grow" program.

The symphonic orchestras with the best scores were the Sinfónica Departamental de Tarijaand theSinfónica Juvenil de Urubichá. In the string category, the ones which classified were the Orquesta Municipal de Cuerdas San José Patriarca,Orquesta Juvenil Paz y Bien de San Ignacio de Velasco, and theOrquesta de Cámara de la Filarmónica de Oruro.

As part of the awards, the organizers of the contest will invite these five finalists, including up to 50 musicians, the director, and up to five teachers, to receive training in a workshop taught by maestros of the Venezuela Orchestra System for five days in the city of Santa Cruz.

Later, the names of the two winners will be made public. One will be in the symphonic orchestra category, and the other in the string orchestra category. The contest will end will a master concert performed by the two winners, to be held in December in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Music to Grow

The contest is organized in the framework of the "Music to Grow" program that CAF has been sponsoring since 2000, which promotes the use of music as a tool for social inclusion, thus contributing to the comprehensive training of children and youths living in poverty in the region.

This philosophy is shared by the partners who make up this alliance of actors from the private sector, international cooperation, the State, and the municipal and departmental governments of Santa Cruz who, through the contest, want to show that music is an alternative for the social development of Bolivian children and youths.