Juan Diego Flórez promotes National System of Children's and Youth Symphony Orchestras with INC and CAF

(Lima, November 10, 2009).- The National System of Children's and Youth Symphony Orchestras - project supported by the National Institute of Culture (INC), with the support of the Andean Development Corporation - was officially presented in an inaugural concert held today in the Ceremonies Room of the Museum of the Nation with the special participation of renowned Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez.

The inaugural concert - given by an orchestral group of 167 musicians aged 12 to 28 from the various regions of the country - marks the start of the activities of the National System of Children's and Youth Symphony Orchestras in Peru, under the direction of Maestro Espartaco Lavalle from Trujillo in northern Peru.

For this occasion, the pieces chosen were: "William Tell Overture" of Gioachino Rossini, "Gypsy Airs" of Pablo Sarasate, "Fantasy Overture: Romeo and Juliet" of Tchaikovsky, "La flor de la canela" (Cinnamon Flower) of Chabuca Granda, "Life" of Espartaco Lavalle and “Danzón N° 2” of Arturo Márquez. The young musicians gave a masterly performance, directed by Maestro Lavalle, resident musical director of the Opera Theater of Izmir, Turkey, who made a special trip to Lima to participate in the performance.

Eleonora Silva, CAF director representative in Peru, said the multilateral organization joined the INC initiative of supporting implementation of the Symphony Orchestra System, based on the program begun 30 years ago by Venezuelan music maestro José Antonio Abreu, which focuses on the training of children and youth from low-income backgrounds, as well as teachers in the orchestra area, because educational tools in the music field strengthen capacities and talents and make young people agents of their own development.

"Because of its capacity to enhance the intellectual, physical, emotional, spiritual and expressive attitudes of individuals, music is universally recognized as the ideal art for educating; as a result for 18 years CAF has been supporting the integrated training of children and young people, exalting the noblest values of the individual and strengthening family and community ties, reinforcing the social fabric," the CAF executive said.

INC director Cecilia Bákula said this first concert of the Peruvian National Children's and Youth Symphony Orchestra was the culmination of months of work to implement the system in Peru as an organized structure of regional groups which today, for the first time, are presented as a single body.

"The System aims to be a mechanism for personal development, social integration and self-esteem through music and identification of youth with the values proper to musical creation and interpretation with excellence. Far from being just a set of groups, the System sets out to become an activity associated with the spiritual growth of its members and generate a multiplying effect at national level," the INC director added.

Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez told maestro Abreu last February in Caracas that he was interested in promoting this initiative in Peru. The tenor considers the initiative of singular importance: "music is an art, but also for many people, particularly children and adolescents, it is a way of changing and rescuing lives and integrating communities and peoples."

"The objective of the project is to educate youth and children through knowledge of music by offering the possibility of exploring a totally unknown world opened by the discipline of learning to play an instrument and achieving an integrated development. Our objective is to create a base structure which slowly broadens and becomes sustainable, for which the support of the public sector and private sectors is necessary, as well as international bodies," said the famous tenor.

CAF has been supporting implementation of the National Orchestra System in the countries of the region for over ten years. The System was founded by maestro Abreu 30 years ago in his country, and has achieved an unprecedented success, training about 180 orchestras, and over 350,000 young musicians dedicated to achieving excellence and realizing themselves as people through music.

The National Institute of Culture (INC) is responsible for executing state cultural policy as the governing entity of 24 decentralized and other bodies. Its objective is to reinforce national identity through decentralized execution of actions of protection, conservation and promotion, valorization and dissemination of the nation's heritage and culture as a contribution to national development with the active participation of the community and the public and private sectors. http://inc.perucultural.org.pe.