Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra and El Sistema Greece culminate 2017 residency with festive joint performance to close the Hellenic Festival
Athens, 2nd August 2017
On 1st August 2017, 343 young musicians between the ages of ten and thirty came together on stage at the mythical Odeon of Herodes Atticus theatre under the Acropolis. In a joint performance of the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra (SEYO) they performed in front of 4.400 people to close this year’s Hellenic Festival (aka the Athens & Epidaurus Festival), a major music event held in Athens since 1955. The performance was the culmination of the 4th Sistema Europe Summer Residency held from the 19th of July to the 2nd of August in Athens, bringing together young talents and thirty teachers from twenty-eight countries that have implemented Sistema and Sistema-inspired programmes for "social action through music”. The SEYO Summer Residency was hosted by El Sistema Greece.
The orchestra of this year’s summer camp consisted of 250 young musicians from all over Europe, the El Sistema Greece children’s choir and kids of the Skaramagas refugee camp. From the 20th of July until the 1st of August, they rehearsed pieces by Handel, Beethoven, Brahms, and Bizet as well as a selection of Greek and Arabic traditional music at the Athens Conservatoire. Furthermore, the French-Greek composer Alexandros Markeas wrote a piece commissioned for the occasion: his piece, Taxidi (meaning 'journey'), was composed especially for this multi-cultural orchestra who premiered the work.
The programme of the SEYO Summer Camp 2017 included, in addition to workshops, sectionals, master classes and orchestra rehearsals, also a visit to the Skaramagas refugee camp, where the musicians performed for and together with the children.
A special highlight was the visit of the prizewinning conductor Elim Chan at the international summer camp. In 2014, Chan became the first female conductor to win the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. She has worked as an assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and, in 2016/2017, she also participated in the Dudamel Fellowship Programme with Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. Chan’s visit was a big surprise for the young musicians who were attending the concert rehearsal. Chan, who conducted them in Tschaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, was visibly impressed by the multicultural orchestra: “This big-wave-movement of Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra is really inspiring. The energy is amazing. They are open, they are willing to change and they are fast”, she said.
The final concert of the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra was the culmination of the 4th summer residency and took place on stage at the mythical Odeon of Herodes Atticus theatre. More than 4,400 people enjoyed the performance of the multicultural orchestra conducted by renowned personalities associated with the El Sistema movement: Bruno Campo and Samuel Matus (Guatemala / Austria / Turkey), Etienne Abelin (Switzerland), Juan Carlos Maggiorani, Félix Briceño and Ron Davis Álvarez (Venezuela / Portugal, Turkey / Sweden) and Faidra Giannelou (Greece).
The Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano and patron of El Sistema Greece, Joyce DiDonato, also made a special guest appearance by performing the Syrian song Lamma Bada with El Sistema Greece‘s choir, consisting of young Greek singers and children from local refugee camps.
Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra works towards social action, integration through music, mutual enrichment and cultural exchange between the musicians. A concept that works: after only a few days at SEYO, incredible changes in the children can be observed. Nowadays, SEYO is regarded as a world-renowned project with an impressive integrative function and a network through which musicians, regardless of their origin, get the chance to play in an orchestra: “You learn your part, you play your part but that’s not what makes a symphony. Symphony is when everybody comes together. You have to do your part well, but at the same time you have to listen to the others and understand their perspectives. It’s not about one person, it’s about the community”, said Elim Chan.
********************************************************************
Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra – making the world better through music
The SEYO – Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra annual summer residency celebrates the ability of music to unite nations, religions, and cultures. Hosted by El Sistema Greece from the 19th of July to the 2nd of August in Athens, the residency is organised by Sistema Europe, a network of over thirty programmes inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema that was founded forty-two years ago by José Antonio Abreu. The SEYO was previously held in Austria (2013), Turkey (2014), and Italy (2015). Guided by exceptional teachers and conductors, young musicians from many countries and various cultures live and rehearse together, in view of performances in key European venues.
El Sistema Greece provides free music education to several hundred children in the country’s refugee camps. Since its launch last November 2016, the project has expanded to four sites, giving refugee children a tailored educational programme designed to develop memory, language and musical skills which aid integration into European societies and enhances their confidence. Established in collaboration with Impact Hub Athens, El Sistema Greece works with musicians across several camps in Greece as well as with Greek children in Athens who learn and perform with refugee children.
Marshall Marcus, President and Founder of Sistema Europe, and Trustee of Sistema England, said:
“The Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra annual summer residency is a unique opportunity for Europe’s young people to celebrate international friendship and solidarity through music. This summer, through the generous hosting of El Sistema Greece, we are delighted to bring the SEYO to Athens, cradle of European culture and today a vital centre of endeavour to help young refugees from outside of Europe. The events of SEYO 2017 promise to have very special scope and significance.”
Bruno Campo, Founder of Sistema Guatemala and the Superar Vienna Orchestra, said:
“One of the most important mottos for Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra is ‘Unity through diversity’. Being able to gather so many young musicians with different cultures, with different approaches, with different ways of seeing life, and putting them all together to share their perspectives, to learn from each other, is what really makes the world better.”
Greek Conductor, Faidra Giannelou, said:
“Greece is honoured to host SEYO, which represents the highest level of Sistema work in Europe. We are confident that this international group of young musicians will inspire and encourage the children of El Sistema Greece, ensuring a significant impact on their musical development.”
For more information please contact:
Bruno Campo
Founder of Sistema Guatemala and the Superar Vienna Orchestra
e: brunocampo@gmail.com | t: +43 664 954 79 37
Sistema Europe: www.sistemaeurope.org
SEYO: facebook.com/SistemaEuropeYouthOrchestra