New England Conservatory, Youth Orchestra of the Americas Musicians to Perform at the Vatican.
Altar of St. Peter's Basilica
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For Immediate Release:
October 29, 2008
Instrumentalists from New England Conservatory and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas will join forces in a performance of Haydn’s Harmoniemesse at the Vatican during the seventh annual Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra, Nov. 26 in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The 50-piece “festival orchestra,” which will include 22 NEC players, will be conducted by the internationally renowned German Bach specialist Helmuth Rilling. The chorus will be the Gächinger Kantorei of Stuttgart, founded by Rilling. Vocal soloists are soprano Robin Ohannsen, contralto Ingeborg Danz, tenor Jussi Myllys, and bass Jens Hamman.
Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica, will celebrate the High Mass.
Created by the Fondation Pro Musica e Arte Sacra, the music festival takes place every autumn for two months and presents concerts in the Papal Basilicas of Rome. The Orchestra-in-Residence is the Vienna Philharmonic and featured conductors have included Riccardo Muti and Seiji Ozawa. The purpose of the festival is to increase public awareness of the foundation’s work in raising funds for the restoration of religious artifacts and buildings—some of the projects being the basilicas themselves. One of the culminating highlights of each festival is the annual Eucharistic Celebration in which music, performed by a youth orchestra or chorus, is played within the context of the liturgy.
Besides the St. Peter’s concert, the NEC/YOA musicians will spend five days in Rome taking part in rehearsals, a private tour of Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel, gala parties and receptions, and a festive Thanksgiving dinner hosted by YOA Chair Hilda Ochoa Brillembourg and her husband Arturo.
The NEC/YOA performance in the festival is made possible in part by the generous support of The Lynch Foundation.
NEC and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas have enjoyed an ongoing partnership that dates from YOA’s creation. The Conservatory, Vision, Inc. (a non-profit institution, founded by Ochoa,and dedicated to the promotion of Latin American arts and culture), and Venezuela’s El Sistema were the founding institutions that assembled the multicultural world class symphony orchestra of 100 musicians, ages 18—26, from over 24 countries. During the 2002 inaugural international tour, the YOA spent several weeks in residence at NEC where the young musicians lived in the dormitory and rehearsed and performed in Jordan Hall. Several concerts on that tour featured the first conducting appearances outside Venezuela by the 19-year old Gustavo Dudamel.
YOA is led by Artistic Advisor, Plácido Domingo, and Principal Conductors Carlos Miguel Prieto and Gustavo Dudamel. Hilda Ochoa Brillembourg, founder of Vision Inc. is Chairman of the Board. Mark Churchill, NEC’s Dean of Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education, and José Antonio Abreu are Vice Chairmen.
For further information about YOA, check the Youth Orchestra of the Americas' Website
ABOUT YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE AMERICAS
Led by Artistic Advisor, Plácido Domingo, YOA is a pan-American symphony
orchestra of gifted young musicians, ages 18 to 26. Musicians are selected through local, national and international auditions. All musicians participate on full scholarship to allow for the greatest diversity possible. Since its Inaugural Tour in 2002, YOA has performed over 100 concerts in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Italy, México, Panamá, Perú, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. YOA has reached over 8 million people through TV & radio broadcasts, CDs, press reviews, and documentary films on YOA¹s formation, mission and programs.
For further information about NEC, check the NEC Website
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.
Contact: Ellen Pfeifer
Public Relations Manager
New England Conservatory
617-585-1143
epfeifer@newenglandconservatory.edu