Concert by Youth Music Camp

  On the evening of 31 January, at the Equestrian Centre in Coronado, a concert was given by the Youth Music Camp, under the organisation of Asociacion Nacional de Conciertos, to a dinner audience of well over a 100 people.  The programme was varied, and included pieces by Beethoven and Vivaldi, performed by an orchestra of 60 young persons.

The concert began with a performance by the wind and percussion section, conducted by Juan Carlos Meza from Costa Rica.  In the second half, the wind and percussion sections were joined by the string section making up the complete orchestra, conducted by the Musical Director, Eddy Marcano from Venezuela.  The audience reacted with great enthusiasm to the high quality of the performance from what was clearly a group of very talented musicians.

In particular, a solo performance on recorder of Vivaldi's Flute Concerto, given by a young 17 year old named Roberto Gonzales, from Panama, received a huge ovation.  Roberto's performance was all the more extraordinary when the audience were told by the Orchestra's Executive Director, Samuel Robles, that he had never had any formal music tuition, and was completely self taught by watching musicians play on youtube and facebook, where his talent was in fact discovered.

Sr. Robles outlined the history of theYouth Music Camp, which for the last 24 years has sought out the most talented young musicians in Panama and develops their talent to maximum potential.  The Asociacion Nacional de Conciertos lends instruments, and provides grants for study, not only to its members but also to the wider community in Panama. Members of the Camp attend intensive tuition at a two week Youth Camp where faculties from Musical Colleges in the USA, Costa Rica and Venezuela also send young musicians to enrich the learning experience.

The Youth Music Camp comprises some 120 members in total, split into two sections, with the most experienced performers entertaining the guests at the Equestrian Centre concert. The youngest performer on the evening was aged 8 whilst the eldest was a young woman of 27, who has recently graduated from medical school and who has maintained her association with the Orchestra from childhood.

It is a testimony to the enjoyment provided by the Orchestra when at the end of the concert, there was a lengthy and sincere standing ovation - it was truly a memorable evening of quality musicianship which was universally appreciated by those who attended.

Sr. Samuel Robles, Executive Director, advised the audience that the Youth Music Camp depends to a large degree on charitable donations.  It costs approximately $500 to train each young person, and the most that any individual member pays towards this is $50.  Anyone wishing to support this most worthwhile organisation by donation can contact them directly by email on:  conciertos@conciertospanama.org.

Also, the Asociacion Nacional de Conciertos holds an annual International Concert Season, which could be interesting for the Playa communities.  Artists this season will include pianist Joel Fan (from Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble - April 30)), Enso String Quartet (September 10), bassoonist Peter Kolkay (October 8) and the revelation pianist Javier Perianes from Spain (July 2) who can be found playing Beethoven 4 on YouTube - truly spectacular.  The season only costs $135.00 and $120.00, which is basically what you would pay for a single show at the Royal Albert Hall or Alice Tully, where their guest artistes frequently perform, and all concerts will be held at the National Theatre, Panama.  This represents great value for anyone who enjoys the highest quality classical music performances, and additional information on these and other concerts that will be held this coming season will be available on their website soon.  The website address is http://www.conciertospanama.org.