(Photo by Amanda Smith Photography)
Miami Music Project has been invited by the National Take A Stand Festival to bring 23 young musicians from Miami’s most underserved communities to participate in this five-day nationally renowned program.
Through a partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Longy School of Music of Bard College in New York and the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado, this festival brings together young musicians from programs inspired by El Sistema — Venezuela’s revolutionary music education initiative that inspires social change through music.
Miami Music Project is the only program to send its students to both Bard College in New York and Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado. Eighteen will be participating in the orchestra while five have been chosen to be alternates for the festival. This initiative is taking the first steps to creating a national youth orchestra inspired by social transformation.
The three-year National Take a Stand Festival features a teaching faculty made up of representatives from El Sistema-inspired programs across the country. Included is one of which includes Steven Liu, Miami Music Project’s director of educational programming. This faculty will serve as the master teachers at the two regional youth orchestra camps this summer — at AMFS and at Bard College — and continue to oversee programming at the seven-day national youth orchestra festival in Los Angeles in 2017, which will feature a final performance led by Gustavo Dudamel, LA Phil music and artistic director.
The following Miami Music Project students are recognized for their participation and respective locations.
Aspen: Cesar Jesus Fernandez Ramirez, bassoon, Cypress Bay High School; Chris Gonzalez, trombone, Citrus Grove Middle School ; Dereck Sangunio, French horn, Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center; Eduardo Clavijo, oboe, New World School of the Arts ; Jose Espejo, violin, Mater Lakes Academy, and Ruth Joseph, trombone, The Young Women’s Preparatory Academy.
Bard : Benjamin Bush, cello, home schooled; Bobby Bush, clarinet, home schooled; David Vallejo-Lozano, viola, Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center; Franklin Araque, flute, Miami Springs High School ; Grace Bush, flute, Florida Atlantic University ; Isabella Ortiz, violin, Conchita Espinosa Academy ; Juan Florez, violin, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle; Juan Rodriguez, bass, Belen Jesuit Preparatory; Marcos Alvarez, clarinet, Little Havana Charter; Martin Mayo, oboe, New World School of the Arts ; Ricardo Mendez, violin, St. Brendan Elementary, and Roy Rosales, clarinet, Miami Arts Charter.
Bard alternates: Amber Jones, trumpet, The Young Women’s Preparatory Academy; David Mora Carrera, violin, George Washington Carver Middle ; Lucia Rodriguez, bass, Doral Academy Preparatory; Pablo Espinal, cello, Dr. Rolando Espinosa K-8 Center, and Sophia Lehrmann, oboe, Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center.
For more information visit www.miamimusicproject.org.
