By Hilary Saunders, New World Symphony

In Colombia’s Aburrá Valley, in the northern range of the Andes Mountains, second-year New World Symphony (NWS) Trumpet Fellow Dylan Girard worked with a group of young brass musicians from the Academia de la Filarmónica de Medellín (the academy affiliated with the city’s sole professional orchestra, la Orquestra Filarmónica de Medellín).  He likened the phrasing of his instrument’s sounds to the mountains that surrounded them. “I went on a constant mountain theme,” he said. Likewise, “they spoke about air, breath, preparing the phrase, cueing each other in chamber music and breathing out before slow music…We shared a created a common vocabulary that was helpful in describing music.”

Dylan joined three other New World Symphony Fellows—second-year Violin Fellow Sarah Silver, second-year Bassoon Fellow Tom Fleming, second-year Trombone Fellow Santiago Novoa—Medellín from November 10-15, 2013. This most recent visit was one of many that NWS Fellows have taken to Medellín over the course of the past two years, which represents one element of the New World Symphony’s Medellín Musician Exchange program. Launched during the 2010-11 season, the program began as a collaboration between the Orquestra Filarmónica de Medellín, Universidad EAFIT and the New World Symphony with the generous support of Ms. Florencia Jimenez-Marcos, Mr. Xavier Gonzalez-Sanfeliu, La Fundación SaludArte and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Each season, groups of New World Symphony Fellows and Colombian student musicians alternate between traveling to Medellín and Miami Beach, with NWS Fellows providing in-person instruction, coaching and mentoring and Medellin student musicians gaining access to the much-needed resources that will allow them to continue to advance musically. Additionally, the Fellows and young instrumentalists continue to develop their training and relationships via long-distance learning tools like Internet2 and Skype throughout the year.

During the November trip to Medellín, the four Fellows worked with groups of young musicians to provide instrumental instruction for the mentees and develop their performance abilities, musical confidence, study habits and self-expression. During this visit, the second of four during the 2013-14 season, each Fellow worked with his or her own section: Sarah taught string players everything ranging from basic scales to Tchaikovsky symphonies. Tom led a woodwind quintet and showed students how to make their own reeds. Santiago, a native Spaniard, was able to work with as many as 40 young trombone players without the inconvenience of a language barrier.

Currently, however, two promising Colombian cellists participating in the exchange are completing a three-month residency at the New World Symphony, during which they were afforded an opportunity of intensive study and diverse musical exchanges. On Thursday, Juan Sebastian Forero Jaramillo and Santiago Bernal Montaña will present a recital encapsulating their experiences in Miami Beach. The free event takes place December 12 at 7:30 PM in the SunTrust Pavilion at the New World Center (500 17^th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139). For more information click here.

The next Medellín visit for NWS Fellows will take place March 2-8, 2014 and musicians from the Academia de la Filarmónica de Medellín will visit Miami Beach May 5-10, 2014.

Click here to see a brief video of the Medellin Exchange Program.