Professorship and Praises

Norway praised the work of maestro Abreu

On Friday afternoon, the representatives of academia like the Norway School of Music, the Trondheim School of Music, some members of the Menuhi Violin Competition, and other cultural authorities of this nation, applauded in recognition of what was said at the end of Abreu’s conference: “You, your visionary spirit, Gustavo Dudamel, the ‘Simón Bolívar’ Orchestra and El Sistema are an inspiration to us”, stated Stephan Barratt Due, director of the Barratt Due Music Institute –an academy with almost 100 years of tradition.

The first ovation came when Abreu confessed that the System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela began with little, but thinking big and with the firm promise to place Venezuela in the frame of universal music, and also seeking to give birth to an orchestra in every state of the country, in places where that seemed impossible, allowing a toolset of social affirmation.

Abreu: An Inspiring Speech

The ovation roared again when the creator of this “music miracle” –as some musicians like the renowned Claudio Abaddo and the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle, proposed the creation of an orchestra with Venezuelan and Norwegian musicians, to continue building a network that will later become, as Abreu dreams it, a worldwide system of orchestras.

Barratt Due closed the conference saying: “We are inspired by your spirit. You, Dudamel and El Sistema are an example to us. You are proving that our vision of academic music, our audiences and the reach of music can change”.

Oslo Konserthus

The stop in Oslo of this European Tour ended with more ovations. This time for Gustavo Dudamel and the “Simón Bolívar” Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, after performing a program containing Margariteña (Symphonic Variations) by the Venezuelan Inocente Carreño; the Dances of La Estancia Ballet by the Argentine Alberto Ginastera; and the Symphony nº 4 by Tchaikovsky, at the Konserthus of Oslo. This program stole the ovation of the audience that applauded for 10 minutes.

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The Cradle of The Nobel Welcomed José Antonio Abreu

The Venezuelans wore their coats with the tricolored flag of Venezuela, becoming as Abreu called them hours before the concert, “ambassadors of our nation”. They said goodbye with Bernstein’s Mambo, exciting the audience even more.

Venezuela in Oslo

The embassy of Venezuela celebrated the triumph

After the success of the Venezuelan delegation, the ambassador of Venezuela in Norway, José Sojo Reyes, said that “the Norwegian society is very sensitive to what El Sistema has done in terms of social inclusion, and this has inspired the important personalities of music life in this country. The meeting between El Sistema and these specialists is an important accomplishment. This visit will carry many good ideas…”

We are very proud of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela. José Antonio Abreu shares a message of peace through music and understanding among people, and when we see this reaction from the Norwegian public, and above all, from these music specialists, we are filled with pride and hope", said Sojo Reyes.