YOUTH + MUSIC
Bringing opportunities to young musicians between the ages 8 – 28
The Pro Musica Academy of Music
For many years before the pandemic we operated an Academy of Music at Cinco de Mayo School in San Miguel. This had to close down when Covid hit and since then the school has regrettably shown no interest in reviving it. We have now, however, restarted the Academy at the Biblioteca Publica and classes are now ongoing. There we teach 8 to 14-year-olds the basics of music and the individual instrument they wish to play, such as violin, viola, flute and clarinet. Classes are held all day on Saturdays for 40 weeks of the year and our first year enrolment was some 20 students. We aim to expand this to at least double that number over the next couple of years. The students pay no fees for the classes and we provide all the instruments to them without cost. The teachers are paid and we rent space from the Biblioteca. We hope that in a few years we will be able to re-establish the Childrens’ Orchestra we had previously at Cinco de Mayo school with these young students.
The Pro Musica Youth Orchestra
In the last two years we have refined the orchestra to focus on the quality of playing, rather than maximizing the number of musicians in it. The current ensemble comprises about 25 of the most talented young musicians between the ages of 18-28 drawn from a wide area in the States of Guanajuato and Queretaro. This emphasis on excellence has meant that the orchestra has gone from strength to strength culminating in widely praised concerts. This season the Music Director and Principal Conductor will be renowned San Miguel maestro, Mauro Ledesma, who brings a wealth of conducting orchestras and choral ensembles to the podium. The Orchestra’s repertoire will focus on classic works from the Baroque and Romantic periods, such as Haydn and Mozart. One of the highlights of the Orchestra’s year will be a performance at our annual Gala Fundraiser.
Young Classical Musician Competition
2024 saw our second Young Classical Musician Competition, open to Mexican instrumentalists between the ages of 16-25 playing any orchestral instrument, including piano. Our judges selected 15 young players who went forward to the semi-finals in San Miguel. They chose three winners and the competitors between them shared prizes of $400,000 pesos in the form of scholarships/instrument purchases to take forward their careers. The winner was outstanding horn player Melanie Martinez for whom we purchased a magnificent new horn for US$10,000 using her prize which has enabled her to gain a place at a prestigious music school in Brussels, Belgium. The next competition will be in two years time.
