The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra (SBSO) and the YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) staged a historic joint concert to close the first date of the Take a Stand Symposium on January 30 in Los Angeles. The inaugural Take a Stand Symposium focuses on driving the collective thinking of the El Sistema movement forward. The orchestras were led by maestros Bruce Kiesling and Joshua Dos Santos.

Dos Santos expressed: “Our goal was to convey a message of peace, hope, joint effort, and progress. It has been a wonderful experience to work alongside the children and youngsters from YOLA and other fellow musicians from the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. This collaboration carries out a more meaningful message because it promotes equality and the idea of working together to perform music. I can say, with no doubt, that this is one of the most important moments in my career.”

The free concert took place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels as one of the activities in the Mahler Project agenda. Among the attendees, we can count: parents and family members of the YOLA program participants as well as members of the delegations participating in the Take A Stand Symposium, which included people from 16 countries across America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. During the concert, the orchestras performed works by Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Villoldo, Rodriguez, and Mahler.

Professors, workshop instructors, soloists, and representatives from El Sistema and the Los Angeles Philharmonic agree that this joint effort between children and youngsters from the United States and Venezuela–as well as other communities from Latin America and Asia– have provided excellent results that signal a social change and the strengthening of cultural ties between all communities that take part in the YOLA program.

Deborah Borda, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, expressed during her speech that these concerts go beyond the relations between two countries: these are artistic expressions for every community regardless of origin, which helped break down the barriers of any culture, society, and language. Maestro José Antonio Abreu, who was present in the audience, was received to thunderous applause. Maestro Abreu expressed that he felt overjoyed, very touched, and satisfied with the outcome of the joint concert because it sets an example of integration and brotherhood.

The El Sistema-inspired YOLA program provides after-school music training to more than 500 children at two nucleos in Los Angeles: HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) and Expo Center. Musicians from the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra participate in this program as part of their residency in the Mahler Project.

María Isabel Jiménez, mother of Lucía (a participant in the YOLA program) said that prior to joining YOLA, her daughter did not show interest in classical music and used to be very shy: “This program changed my daughter’s life. She is now a more social child. Not only does she understand music much better, but also the subjects she is studying at school.” 12-year-old Raymond Chávez, a Mexican clarinet player residing in Los Angeles also expresses that YOLA at HOLA changed his life and that being able to learn from and perform with Venezuelan musicians in the same orchestra was an unforgettable experience for him.