The Orchestra of the Americas

The Orchestra of the Americas
Orchestra
Founded 2002
Location The Americas
Principal conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto
Website orchestraoftheamericas.org
The Orchestra of the Americas performing at the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany - August, 2018

The Orchestra of the Americas (OA) is a Latin Grammy-Winning world-class symphony orchestra of young musical leaders, aged 18 to 30, representing more than 25 countries in the Western Hemisphere. The orchestra is guided by Artistic Advisor Plácido Domingo and Music Director Carlos Miguel Prieto.

History

The Orchestra of the Americas was founded in 2002 by VISIÓN Inc in partnership with the New England Conservatory. The organization's creation was inspired by pioneering work of figures including Jorge Peña Hen (Chile), Ana Milena Muñoz Gómez (Colombia), Oscar Arias (Costa Rica), José Antonio Abreu (Venezuela), and others throughout the Americas, to give the platform of the symphony orchestra renewed purpose at the epicenter of social transformations in diverse, underprivileged communities.[1] The organization was established by founding chairman Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, vice-chairman Mark Churchill, and vice-chairman José Antonio Abreu, in partnership with The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, the Organization of American States, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Early musical supporters include Yo-Yo Ma, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Plácido Domingo, and Benjamin Zander, among others. Since its inaugural tour, The Orchestra of the Americas has performed more than 400 concerts for audiences in 35+ countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Orchestra has reached over 15 million people through television & radio broadcasts, recordings, print, and television - including three feature-length documentary films dedicated to the Orchestra . The Orchestra has released a number of critically acclaimed commercial recordings with Plácido Domingo, Gabriela Montero, Philip Glass, and others, winning in 2015 a Latin Grammy Award for 'Best Classical Album.' [2][3]

Artistic Collaborators

Carlos Miguel Prieto is Music Director and Plácido Domingo as Founding Artistic Advisor. Gustavo Dudamel was the Orchestra' Co-Principal Conductor from 2003-2010. Guest conductors have included Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Kent Nagano, Leonard Slatkin, Rafael Payare, Helmuth Rilling, Isaac Karabtchevsky, and José Serebrier, among others. Soloists include Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, Nelson Freire, Alisa Weilerstein, Louis Lortie, Ingrid Fliter, James Ehnes, Gabriela Montero, Paquito d'Rivera, Antonio Meneses, Matt Haimovitz, Ildar Abdrazakov, Mariachi Vargas, Danilo Perez, Horacio Lavandera, Ilya Gringolts, Philippe Quint, Alex Klein, among others. The Orchestra's instrumental coaching faculty includes members of the world's top orchestras, among them principals of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Boston Symphony, Rome Opera, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, as well as academic music institutions of high repute including The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute of Music, The Colburn School, and Shepherd School of Music. Head of Faculty since 2006 has been Argentine violinist Leon Spierer who led the Berlin Philharmonic as Concertmaster from 1963 to 1993 under Herbert von Karajan. Composers-in-Residence to work with the Orchestra include Philip Glass (2010), Tan Dun (2013), Arturo Marquez (2014), Nicolas Gilbert (2015), John Estacio (2009), Juan Orrego-Salas (2012), and Krzysztof Penderecki (2018), among others.

Members & Alumni

Each year 5000+ musicians begin the audition process for 80 seats in The Orchestra of the Americas, ranking it among the most competitive orchestra academies in the world. All accepted participants join the Orchestra for a period of one year on full scholarship, which includes an annual international residency and tour. Alumni occupy posts in major international orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, OSESP, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Charlotte Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, New World Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Paris Opera, Seoul Philharmonic, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Orchestra London, Minnesota Orchestra, and others. Many alumni have also founded musical institutions in their home regions that focus on social transformation and community development.

Affiliates

The Global Leaders Program was founded in 2012 as an affiliate to the orchestra. Curated by a number of top academic institutions and think-tanks including Harvard Universtiy, McGill University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, Bard College, and Duke University, The Global Leaders Program is an annual Executive Graduate Certificate that helps exceptional musicians become leading social entrepreneurs. The Global Leaders program combines on-site training in diverse international settings with remote classroom learning led by a faculty of pioneers in diverse fields (including Thomas Südhof, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology). Cohort Members are prepared simultaneously to act as social entrepreneurs, advocates, pedagogs, performers, managers, civic leaders, and cultural agents. The website of The Global Leaders Program is www.globalleadersprogram.com

Founded Institutions

The Orchestra has helped to launch several significant music institutions across the Americas including the Colombian Youth Philharmoonic, and the national youth orchestras of the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica and Haiti, among other regional youth orchestras and festivals. These organizations are modeled on the Orchestra of the Americas' principles, audition platform, artistic & leadership training and commitment to community development.

Awards

The Orchestra has been the recipient of numerous awards including Latin Grammy Award [won] (2015) for "Best Classical Album" (Gabriela Montero/Orchestra of the Americas/Carlos Miguel Prieto: Ex-Patria),[4] and League of American Symphony Orchestras Award won (2012) "Golden Baton."

Artistic Advisory Council

Leadership Council

Presidential Council

Offices

The Orchestra of the Americas is registered as an organization in the United States, Costa Rica, Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela. The head office is a 501(c)3 located in Washington, DC. The organization's operating budget ranges annually from $2 to $2.5 million USD.

References

  1. ↑ "The Atlantic, Interview with Hilda Ochoa".
  2. ↑ Interview with Gabriela Montero >Reel, James (February 2004). "American Bandstand: The Youth Orchestra of the Americas is a powerful symbol of unity" Strings (subscription required)
  3. ↑ Medrek, T.J. (25 July 2002). "Conductor takes a shine to stars of tomorrow". Boston Herald (subscription required)
  4. ↑ "Interview with Gabriela Montero".


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