The Youth Orchestra of the DC Youth Orchestra Program will travel to Colombia in June for a residency and side-by-side tour with Orquestra Metropolitana Batuta, making DCYOP the first youth orchestra from the U.S. to work with Batuta, Colombia’s national youth orchestra program. During the residency, from June 24 to July 2, students will work with master teachers from Batuta and participate in combined activities and cultural excursions with their Colombian peers. Faculty from DCYOP will also take part in side-by-side professional development workshops with Batuta. Following the residency, a 120-member orchestra made up of student musicians from both groups will perform three concerts—one in Bogota and two outside the capital. “This is a two-way exchange with a group of experienced faculty and gifted students from the second-largest youth orchestra program in the world,” said DCYOP Music Director Mariano Vales in a press release. Based in Washington, D.C., DCYOP provides low-cost music instruction for young musicians in the DC Metro area. Those in the DCYOP Youth Orchestra have been placed in the top proficiency level of the program; students, up to 18 years old, come from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Posted January 30, 2014
