Seventeen bassoon players from throughout Venezuela took part in the bassoon competition held in Caracas at the 2011 International Bassoon Festival.

The panel of judges was made up of professors Omar Ascanio, Héctor Barrios, Gonzalo Hidalgo (principal bassoons with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela), and international guests Henning Trog, Klaus Thunemann and Matthias Racz.

Alejandro Fela, Daniel García and Oswin Carruido won the first place in the Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel categories, respectively. These young musicians will perform as soloists with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra on September 29 at 5:00 p. m. at the Center for Social Action through Music, at the closing concert of the festival. The entrance is free and open to the public.

The German bassoonist Matthias Racz commented he was amazed at the talent and high standard of the young Venezuelan bassoonists. He also explained that the academic activities had been fruitful and, as a professor, he was satisfied with the results. According to Racz, the Venezuelan El Sistema is producing an important generation of bassoon players.

Concert details