PRESS RELEASE – COMUNICATO STAMPA – PRESSEMITTEILUNG – COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE
In partnership with Sistema England, Sistema Europe’s annual summer residency comes to London and Birmingham for a celebration of social action through music.
The 2018 summer residency will feature 200 young musicians from across Europe, the inspiration of Sistema England’s Young Leaders Programme, guest artists Nicola Benedetti, Sascha Goetzel, Jessica Cottis and Jesus Uzcategui, and performances at the Southbank Centre’s newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Hall and Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.
The fifth edition of the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra (SEYO) will bring over two hundred 10-21 year old musicians and 50 teachers from 20 Sistema and Sistema-inspired social action through music programmes in 15 countries to London and Birmingham this summer, celebrating the power of music to unite nations, cultures and young people during challenging times for the UK and Europe. A further 400 children from local projects The Nucleo Project, In Harmony Telford and Sistema England Young Leaders will also join SEYO18 for mass performances.
Performances at London’s iconic Queen Elizabeth Hall and Birmingham’s majestic Symphony Hall will capture the unique spirit of the global Sistema movement while celebrating the legacy of Leonard Bernstein as part of Bernstein 100, a series of worldwide celebrations around what would have been the musician & humanitarian's 100th birthday. SEYO18 will also champion contemporary composers, such as Errollyn Wallen and Wynton Marsalis, with star violinist Nicola Benedetti joining SEYO for a closing performance of the riveting final movement of Marsalis’ Violin Concerto, written specially for the artist.
The SEYO18 summer residency, hosted by Sistema England and Sistema Europe, will be held at the new Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from the 18th - 28th August 2018, where the young musicians will be guided by a team of exceptional international teachers and music directors from the Sistema Europe network, the Chineke! Orchestra and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
SEYO is an annual event organised by Sistema Europe, the network of European programmes inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema, founded 44 years ago in Venezuela by José Antonio Abreu. Previous editions have taken place in Salzburg (2013), Istanbul (2014), Milan (2015) and Athens (2017)
Youth ownership is the overall theme of SEYO18, with young musicians exploring self-agency in and beyond music. A focus on teacher development will also enable 50 teachers to share and develop further expertise to apply in their own Sistema settings and a new Sistema England and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire teacher training fellowship for students will take place throughout the residency.
The Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra will be conducted by Sascha Goetzel (Austria), Jessica Cottis (UK / Australia), Jesus Uzcategui (Venezuela), Etienne Abelin (Superar Suisse and SEYO Co-Founder, Switzerland), Samuel Matus (Music Director at Turkey’s Music for Peace Foundation, Guatemala) and Juan Carlos Maggiorani (Artistic Director of Portugal’s Orchestra Geraçao, Venezuela).
Marshall Marcus, President and Founder of Sistema Europe and Trustee of Sistema England, said:
“SEYO 2018 will bring hundreds of Europe’s young Sistema musicians and teachers to Birmingham and London for Sistema Europe’s annual celebration of social action through music, this year inspired by England’s extraordinary music education practice. Expect innovative performance platforms, youth leadership and a radical teacher training approach.”
Julian Lloyd Webber, Principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Founder of Sistema England said:
“Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is thrilled to welcome young musicians and teachers from Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra 2018 to Birmingham to make music together in our new state-of-the-art Conservatoire building. This magnificent and extraordinary international cultural collaboration proves once again that music has no barriers of language or politics, and we are proud to join forces with Symphony Hall in August to give a platform to this unique orchestra that will represent the vital Sistema movement in Europe.”
Gillian Moore CBE, Director of Music at the Southbank Centre said:
“At Southbank Centre, we share Sistema Europe's belief that making music changes lives, and we are delighted to be welcoming young musicians from all round Europe and the UK to celebrate, perform together and learn from each other. The music they will play is by composers who share this belief too with their generous and inclusive approach to music, composers such as Errollyn Wallen, Gustav Holst and, in his centenary year, Leonard Bernstein. The concrete and wood of the newly refurbished Queen Elizabeth Hall will be happily resounding to the sounds of young people sharing music making. I know that this gathering will make a real difference and I'm so very pleased that it will happen here.”
Simi Ambass, Sistema England Young Leader & Youth Producer said:
“Through SEYO we want to flip the script, showing everyone that what makes us amazing and unique is our ability to give people unforgettable musical experiences through our personal struggles not despite them. Sistema programmes in Europe may face different social situations but we have a strong bond in knowing that we’re with young people who are going through similar situations and are aiming for something more than what society expects of us. The inspiration we get from our fellow musicians in other countries fires us up with more motivation to push beyond what we believe to be our personal limits. SEYO 2018 in England will build on the successes of previous camps, showing the world that the spirit of young people who dare to dream is alive and well.”
Tickets for the SEYO18 performances are now on sale:
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Sunday 26th August 2018, 5pm
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/126372-sistema-europe-youth-orchestra-2018
(with public activity all afternoon around the Southbank Centre site)
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Monday 27th August 2018, 2.30pm
https://www.thsh.co.uk/event/sistema-europe-youth-orchestra
(public activity from 12pm)
The Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra, © Marco Caselli Nirmal
Contacts and Media
For further information, to arrange features or interviews or for press tickets and passes, please contact Matthew Cruickshank on webmaster@sistemaeurope.org.
To download high-res images for publication, go to:
https://www.sistemaeurope.org/SEYO_2018_images
To find out more about the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra, go to:
https://www.sistemaeurope.org/SEYO-Sistema_Europe_Youth_Orchestra/.
Sistema Europe and Sistema England are grateful to the Hilti Foundation, the main partner of Sistema Europe, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the main partner for SEYO18, for their generous and essential support of SEYO18. Sistema England is also very grateful to the funders and supporters of the Sistema England Young Leaders, who are proud to have the opportunity to welcome and learn with their European peers during SEYO18.