How did the genius conductor Dudamel train young people in his homeland to become "world-class musicians"?

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"Viva Maestro! It shows the bond between world-famous conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the orchestras and young people he coaches in his native Venezuela. The Challenge of Conductor Dudamel' will be screened online at the Refugee Film Festival (running until November 30).

The film, which is being shown for the first time in Japan, shows the process of Dudamel's leadership as he unites the hearts of musicians and creates beautiful performances.

2)
A genius conductor's unique teaching method

Gustavo Dudamel, 42, from Venezuela in South America, captivates classical music fans worldwide with his passionate and powerful conducting style.

Dudamel, who began conducting an orchestra at 12, was hailed as a "child prodigy" in his hometown. When he was just 23, he won the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition, thrusting him into the limelight and reportedly inundated with offers from famous orchestras worldwide.

In 2017, at 35, he became the youngest person ever to wield the baton at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, considered one of the highest honours for a conductor. He currently serves as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but one thing he continues to focus on is the development of young musicians in his home country.

3)
The country's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra are internationally acclaimed partly because Dudamel is their director. The documentary "Viva Maestro!" shows Dudamel's activities in Venezuela and his interactions with the orchestra members. The Challenge of Conductor Dudamel (online at the Refugee Film Festival until November 30) captures the genius conductor's unique teaching methods.

During rehearsals, Dudamel rarely mentions his technique, using unique analogies and gestures to explain to young people how to release their emotions and channel them into music. When rehearsing Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, 'New World', he uses his whole body to tell the young orchestra members:

4)
"I want you to ask yourself this question. What's essential in a performance is not just the power of the sound. It's how you create a sense of tension. (Imitate strolling) Are you slowly chasing someone who is running away? (Raise your voice and make a frightened face) ) They're screaming and chasing each other frantically. That's the tension.

The young people always smiled, whether listening to Dudamel's explanations or playing. Some shake their bodies wildly as they play, surrendering to sound waves. Dudamel's rehearsal scenes are filled with the joy of making music.

5)
Band members are "family

Many of the young people he mentors come from El Sistema, a music education programme in Venezuela.

The programme was founded in 1975 by José Antonia Abreu, a renowned music educator and Dudamel's mentor. Since the lessons are free, children from low-income families and families with no connection to music can participate. Many artists who have come out of El Sistema are now in famous orchestras in Europe and America, and Dudamel is one of them.

In a conversation at the time of the film's US release, Dudamel said that Abreu was willing to let the children try complex songs, and even if they failed technically, he would praise their expressiveness and build their confidence.

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El Sistema was more than just a music class for young people; it was also a place where they learned how to make their dreams come true and made essential friends. Dudamel's teaching style, inherited from his teachers, is probably the origin of his world-famous genius.

Alejandro Carreño, who studied with Dudamel at El Sistema and was the principal violinist of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, says of the orchestra:

"We are not just a group of musicians but a family. We find our expression and communicate with each other through music.

7)
The spirit of El Sistema is inherited

As the story unfolds, however, a dark shadow looms over Dudamel and his friends. Since the economic collapse 2014, Venezuela has been in a crisis, with soaring prices and shortages.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the inflation rate will reach 360% in 2023, and the homicide rate will be 40.4 per 100,000 people in 2022. Although both conditions have calmed down from the worst of 2017-2018, people still suffer from poverty and insecurity, with more than 7.7 million Venezuelans (according to UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) currently living as refugees and immigrants in neighbouring countries such as Colombia and Peru.

8)
Dudamel has long refrained from making political statements about the situation in his homeland. Still, after mass anti-government protests in Venezuela in 2017, which resulted in the death of an El Sistema player, he published a statement in the American newspaper The New York Times condemning tyranny.

As a result, President Nicolas Maduro began interfering in Dudamel's musical activities. The National Youth Orchestra's overseas tour is forcibly cancelled, and Dudamel can no longer enter Venezuela.

9)
Many orchestra members have no choice but to leave their home countries to pursue music. Meanwhile, Dudamel continues to find ways for young people to perform and spread El Sistema's efforts worldwide. In the process, he will reconnect with orchestra members who have left their homelands or are worried about their future as musicians, and the spirit of El Sistema will be passed on to young people across generations and borders.

The state or power can never take away the spiritual richness and the bonds with friends cultivated through music education. This work again teaches us the incredible power of music to unite the hearts of people who desire peace.

10)
At the Refugee Film Festival, six refugee-themed films, including this one (five being shown for the first time in Japan), can be viewed online, and screenings are scheduled in Tokyo on 23 and 25 November. For more information on the festival and to view the films, click here ( https://www.japanforunhcr.org/how-to-help/rff ).

How did the genius conductor Dudamel train young people in his homeland to become "world-class musicians"?

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"Viva Maestro! Conductor Dudamel's Challenge"

https://www.japanforunhcr.org/news/2023/rff18-film-review#maestro

Viva Maestro! Conductor Dudamel's Challenge - Premiere in Japan (18th Refugee Film Festival)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCB5gfSbWtk

Documentary / 2022 / 99 minutes / Spanish (Japanese and English subtitles) / Original title: ¡ Viva Maestro!
Gustavo Dudamel, a conductor from Venezuela, led prestigious symphony orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and earned the reputation of a "prodigy." The film begins in 2017, when Dudamel's planned tour with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the country's premier youth orchestra, is cancelled due to political and economic conflicts in Venezuela. Dudamel will leave Venezuela, the orchestra's tour will be cancelled, and the young members of Bolívar will join the millions of protesters in the streets of Venezuela. However, Dudamel continued to fight for musicians to perform and held international concerts.

Viva Maestro - Gustavo Dudamel and Ted Braun Q&A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlgfvQ4syk

Internationally renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel and Director Ted Braun discuss their new documentary ¡Viva Maestro! with moderator Matthew Carey (Deadline Hollywood).

They were recorded at the Landmark in Los Angeles on April 8, 2022.

Gustavo Dudamel is the acclaimed Music and Artistic Director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. When deadly protests across his native Venezuela disrupt the conductor's international tours, one of the world's finest and most beloved musicians faces a daunting set of challenges—to his commitment to the mentor who changed his life, to friends and musicians he's led since his teens, and to his belief in art's transformative capacity. ¡Viva Maestro!, the uplifting and timely new documentary from acclaimed director Ted Braun (Darfur Now), follows Dudamel worldwide as he responds to unexpected and imposing obstacles with stirring music-making that celebrates the power of art to renew and unite.

Background to the story: What is happening in Venezuela

https://www.japanforunhcr.org/appeal/rff/viva-maestro

Dudamel's home country, Venezuela, was the world's largest oil supplier and the wealthiest country in South America. However, shortly after the Maduro government took office in 2013, a sharp drop in oil prices led to inflation and a critical shortage of supplies, which seriously impacted citizens' lives. Citizen discontent grew, leading to mass anti-government demonstrations across Venezuela in 2017. The film also depicts the tragic death of one of Dudamel's symphony orchestra colleagues. UNHCR's activities have also been repeatedly postponed due to security concerns.

Since 2017, more than 7 million people have left Venezuela for protection and a better life. More than 6 million of the majority have been received in Latin America and the Caribbean. UNHCR is working in the Americas and around the world to find solutions that support the integration of Venezuelans into the societies that have generously welcomed them, create stability and promote the growth and development of their communities. We are taking action.

As the situation in Venezuela remains unstable, many people are suffering from shortages of necessities and economic hardship, and the number of people leaving the country continues to rise. But even after international acclaim, Dudamel remains committed to his home country and is working hard to restore a brighter future for Venezuela, allowing the band members to continue their musical activities.

Gustavo Dudamel - Wikipedia

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B0%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BB%E3%83%89%E3%82%A5%E3%83%80%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AB

Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez ( January 26 , 1981- ) is a Venezuelan conductor . He was born in Barquisimeto. He is the father of one child.

Person/career
He became familiar with music early on with his father, a trombonist in youth orchestras and salsa bands, and his mother, a vocalist. He began receiving music education from El Sistema around the age of five. He chose the violin at the age of 10. At 12, he began conducting with a local youth string orchestra, where he was concertmaster, studying with Rodolfo Saglimbeni and José Antonio Abreu. In 1996, he became the music director of the orchestra.

In 1998, he moved to Caracas at Abreu's invitation. In 1999, he became music director of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, the same orchestra as the American Youth Orchestra, where he is the chief conductor. He has gained attention by performing in various parts of the world.

In 2002, he attended a master class with Charles Dutoit in Buenos Aires. In 2003, he was invited by Simon Rattle to work as his assistant in Berlin and Salzburg, while Claudio Abbado also asked him to join the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He won the first Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg in 2004 and suddenly came into the limelight.

In 2006, he conducted the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra and recorded Beethoven's 5th and 7th Symphonies and Mahler's 5th Symphony on Deutsche Grammophon, which became a hot topic for his energetic performances. The same year, after studying with Daniel Barenboim in Berlin, he directed a new "Don Giovanni" production at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He has an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

In 2007, Dvořák's "From the New World'' was performed live on television throughout Europe to commemorate the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict. In 2009, he was included in Time magazine's 2009 TIME 100.

The concerts also actively feature works by local South American composers such as Ginastera. The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra has a unique sense of openness that other orchestras do not have, making it popular with audiences.

Since 2007, he has been the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and since 2009, he has been music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and arrived in Japan in December 2008.

On December 31, 2010, he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Silvester Concert 2010 at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.

At the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, Brahms Symphony No. 4, performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, won the award for Best Orchestral Performance.

She visited Japan with Teatro Alla Scala in Milan in September 2013. She performed the Verdi Gala Concert, "Aida, in concert format at the NHK Music Festival.

In 2015, he was appointed by composer John Williams to conduct the opening and ending songs for Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a special guest.

He served as conductor at the Vienna Philharmonic New Year Concert 2017 in January 2017. He served as conductor at the Berlin Philharmonic Waldbühne 2017 in 2017. He has such musical talent that the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra has high hopes for his ability.

He had been criticized for not speaking out enough against the Maduro dictatorship in his home country of Venezuela. Still, after the death of a musician during an anti-government demonstration in May 2017, he began to criticize the government repeatedly. In retaliation, he was cancelled from a tour of the United States he was scheduled to lead.

He will serve as the Orchester National Opera de Paris music director from 2021 to 2023.

Jose Antonio Abrau: "Children changed by music"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uintr2QX-TU

José Antonio Abrau is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has changed the lives of thousands of children in Venezuela. Here, he shares a fantastic story and publishes a Ted Prize wish that could significantly impact the United States and beyond.

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