U.S. Embassy Promotes Opera and Music Education in El Salvador
November 6 , 2007

*****

October 17 and 19 marked the dates for the Youth Symphony Orchestra of El Salvador (OSJ, in Spanish) to share stage with the American Spinto Soprano, Holly Gash. With an ambitious program of Verdi arias from la Forza del Destino, la Traviata, and Aida, the concert pleased an audience of 1,300 people. The appearance of Holly Gash was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy.

During the past three years, the Public Affairs Office has granted US $32,000 to support six Youth Symphony performances. The extremely popular concerts, with audiences ranging from 1,300 to 3,600 people, showcase U.S. artist and music of different genres (jazz, rock, classical, opera, and Broadway music, just to name a few), and have become a reference for Salvadoran audiences. Through these concerts, the musicians have the experience of performing for big audiences, which contributes to their education as professional musicians and ultimately to the development of arts and education in El Salvador.

Profits from Youth Symphony performances finance the academic music program of the OSJ. These programs are the main educational tool for members of the orchestra and a way for its conductor to prepare new talents to become part of the orchestra. A total of 120 young musicians aged 8 to 25 have the opportunity to learn music theory, learn to play an instrument, and learn to sing, to name just a few subjects taught by the national and international professional teachers.

The role of this academy is key to the development of music in El Salvador where the only music education offering comes from the government run National Center for Arts or private music schools which are mostly unaffordable for lower income families. Additionally, El Salvador doesn't offer a place for musicians to continue to develop, since the country does not have a conservatory and has neither a high school degree in music nor a college that teaches music.