My sister sent me an email with this clip this morning, and it made my day. This electric performance from the lively Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Venezolana Simón Bolívar at the BBC Proms back in the summer of ’07, is certainly old news worth revisiting. Conducted by the 26-year old charismatic Gustavo Dudamel, la Orquesta has received much recognition around the world.
Dudamel, whom Time magazine dubs “the natural,” is currently conducting Sweden’s Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and next year he’ll become the conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
In spite of Venezuela’s tumultuous state which is the constant focus of the media, la Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (gasp for air! “El Sistema” for short) is a successful music program that runs more than 200 orchestras around the country, making musical education available to poor areas in Venezuela in an effort to keep kids off the streets, drogas y demás.
Here’s otro clip of people going bananas for la orquesta @ the Proms: