Congratulations to our 9^th Grade pupils Angela Maria Gonzalez who will be playing the clarinet and Santiago Hurtado the lead trumpet in the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of Bogotá. This is quite an achievement taking into account the number of musicians competing, an average of 35 per instrument!

The Music Training Programme is part of an Education Project of the Philharmonic Orchestra. The members of the Youth Orchestra are selected from among the best musicians in Bogotá.

In the words of Angela Maria Gonzalez herself:

“I decided this year, to audition for the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra because of their classical repertoire. I started by practising the pieces they proposed on their website. Then in January they were changed and I had to start all over again. I had lessons with my music teacher Juan Pablo Gutierrez and I also practised for 3 weeks. I had a few problems during this time, namely due to the short periods of time to practise at home so as not to disturb the neighbours. I ended up practising in the car!

However, owing to the support I received from the Music Department of the School and my family, I was able to pass the first round of auditions. There were then 4 clarinet players left, down from 30. I was very nervous when I went before the panel of judges. Then on 17^th February I got a phone call telling me I was the Supernumerary  Clarinet.

For the audition I had to prepare an exercise of four major scales and their corresponding minor ones, as well as the arpeggios. I played the solo piece ‘Gloria Beatriz’ composed by Leon Cardona. Lastly, I played two more solos, an introductory piece to ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ for piano, composed by Gershwin that has a jazz influence. The other solo was from Act 3 of the opera Tosca by the Italian composer Puccini.”

Angela’s audition

Now in the words of Santiago Hurtado:

“I heard about the auditions from Angela and I realised that I still had time to apply. I saw that the repertoire presented on the Philharmonic Orchestra website was within my ability as I had already played some of the pieces before. I decided to go ahead in spite of the time limit.

At first, I was a bit intimidated because I did not have much time left to send off the videos for the initial screening. But with the help of Omar, the music teacher, I managed it and I got through to the next round, a virtual audition. I was given two days to prepare, during which time I practised in the afternoons and during breaktimes. Fortunately, I had no problems with my neighbours nor with the times when I could practise.  On the day of the final audition, in spite of being nervous, I was determined not to fail.  The panel of judges were teachers from the Orchestra and they were kind and reassuring. Clearly, none of this would have been possible without the support of Omar and my ten years’ experience in the Symphonic Band of the School.

I was scheduled to have my audition on the 11^th February, 5 days after the day of the deadline for registration. On the 16^th February, I got a phone call to say I had been selected.  This is a major achievement and I am thrilled that I have succeeded.”