Biography
This Colombian orchestra, directed by Juan Felipe Molano is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles, an organisation with origins in Venezuela and which has in the meantime spread to several other South American nations. In Colombia alone, nearly 47,000 children and young people are members of various Batuta branches of this music and education system that gives talented youngsters from poor backgrounds a chance to secure a better future for themselves. The Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Batuta Bogotá is made up of musicians from various schools and academies of music in the Colombian capital Bogotá, and is supported by the Colombian national foundation for youth and children´s orchestras. The 80 best upcoming musicians aged between 14 and 19 from a range of social groups are given the chance to work together in rehearsals and concerts with outstanding musicians and conductors, and perhaps as a result decide to pursue a professional musical career. Several institutions and businesses support the orchestra, which makes an important contribution to education and culture in Colombia.
How we met:
We met this amazing Orchestra during our stay in Bogota, Colombia. The Orquesta Sinfónica juvenil Batuta is featured on La Tierra del olvido, a song across Colombia recorded in 2010 trough a partnership with ABC (Americas Buisness Council Foundation).