Tag Archive for: Blog

Bibiana Ordóñez She is the first harpist the orchestra has. At home, no one aspired for him to be a musician, as a consequence he decided to become an architecture and engineering draftsman at the Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca. From an early age he demonstrated skills in manual activities, assembling cards, building models, outlining plans, assembling, he was even passionate about “seeing a whole mess to build”. But he always knew that something was missing in his life, “what truly fills my heart” and in the second semester, against all odds, he studied music at the National University. Bibiana remembers that between models and scores she transcended her busy student days, but with the commitment to “do things until the end” managed to complete both studies.

“Do things until the end” She also uses it in one of her biggest hobbies during confinement – putting together puzzles – because for the harpist it has a calming effect and focuses all her attention. “Until I find the token I don't stop; When I fit it I feel like I am part of a world. For me, living in society and making music are like putting together a puzzle, because despite the diversity of shapes, each piece is important and when they are put together they all become important, they fulfill a goal and harmony is manifested.”, says Bibiana while showing her puzzle of an orchestra, ready to frame, by artist Guillermo Mordillo.

He says that his greatest sources of inspiration come from the deepest feelings, from the relationship with nature, from daylight, heat and contact with animals; It is so much so that he lives with Manolo and Lupita, his two cats, rescued from the streets of Bogotá, and Colores, his dog, adopted from the Los Angeles Canine Rescue and Adoption Center; place where she is a volunteer and godmother to two other stray dogs.

His love for music began at the age of 10. He wanted piano or flute but there was no longer a place available at the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia. “He played the harp because it starts with A.” Bibiana remembers when she saw the plucked string instrument first on the list, and with space available. From then on he undertook his life and his studies in the harp around the world. Due to her talent and discipline, she won several scholarships to strengthen her technical knowledge, in Paris, at the Higher Regional Conservatory and in Spain, with a scholarship from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation with the harpist Miriam del Río of the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, among others. others.

She has had the opportunity to work in the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Opera Theater of Chile, and in the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra she has been part of its official staff since 2013. Since 2009, Bibiana has taught harp classes every year. Monday to four students from the National University of Colombia, who during confinement have done so virtually.

“Symphonic music is a means of expression without using words, it is a way of getting to know other cultures, other environments. “Music exposes all the emotions within us, it is the universal language, it is the liberation of the soul.”
Mariana, student of the Complementary School Day program

The story tells that Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their stepmother in the forest; Hungry people find a delicious house made of sugar and cake. Temptation leads them to fall into the trap of a witch turned old woman who apparently is very noble. From that moment on, the brothers unite to try to save their lives, and they succeed.

The story of the Brothers Grimm that we have heard is a clear example of brotherhood, collaboration, teamwork, ingenuity and creativity, behaviors that help minimize the difficulties and challenges that arise every day. This is how the opera by the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck, inspired by the story of the Brothers Grimm, has served as an input to strengthen, from virtuality, the comprehensive training of 122 students through the Complementary School Day – JEC program of the Filarmed – Comfama alliance. The program emphasizes the development of values, life skills and teamwork through musical practice; The sessions are held twice a week and benefit girls, boys and young people between seven and seventeen years of age. The program is developed throughout the entire academic year and was created to level out inequalities between public and private education, between urban and rural contexts.

“2020 was a path of many learnings, especially transcending from in-person to virtuality. Thus, interaction with students takes on a new meaning, learning more about their inspirations and motivations. “With the students we work two hours of synchronous activity, connected from Filarmed platforms, and three hours of asynchronous activity, consisting of practice and rehearsal from home”explains Claudia García Giraldo, educational coordinator of Filarmed.

Mariana is a JEC student, she is sixteen years old and is currently studying her last high school degree at the La Paz Educational Institution in the municipality of La Ceja. Parallel to his education, he dedicates three hours a week to rehearsing his instrument. “First I do my schoolwork, then I study my sheet music book, I research the composer and I internalize. "That's how I get into acting more easily," explains Mariana, who has been passionate about the piano since she was four years old when, while accompanying her mother to a sewing course, she heard a piano and a choir in another room. At that time, for her, "the “Music and I connect”.

With its philosophy based on ensemble learning, the program offers an opportunity to join an extracurricular activity that reinforces the sense of community and guarantees mechanisms for free expression, reducing the probability of connection to illegal or potentially harmful activities.

With its philosophy based on ensemble learning, the program offers an opportunity to join an extracurricular activity that reinforces the sense of community and guarantees mechanisms for free expression, reducing the probability of connection to illegal or potentially harmful activities.

During confinement, the program has been forced to implement totally virtual education. “We have encountered some challenges, many students do not have a good signal or data connection to connect in classes. For this reason, we have decided to implement a model that involves different technological tools such as email, chat or WhatsApp to share pre-recorded videos and in this way not lose the bond with the students."explains Claudia.

Music plays a fundamental role in these times of pandemic, connecting creativity, transformation and innovation, “For students who do not have instruments at home, we do all the assembly and execution work through the voice, singing, and body percussion, creating sounds and rhythms using only parts of the body. In the case of Manuela and other students who own instruments, we provide them with advice and knowledge to improve their musical practices.”, highlights Claudia.

Just as Mariana explores the possibilities of her instrument from eastern Antioquia, eleven-year-old Felipe enjoys musical practice from western Antioquia. He is in his sixth year of high school at the Escuela Normal Superior “Genoveva Díaz” from the municipality of San Jerónimo and dreams of one day becoming a musician and architect. “I find music very beautiful, it gives me joy, and a lot of emotion because there are songs that are made with all the heart. I like the violin, but I play the acoustic guitar; I practice every day in the afternoons in the company of my parents.”explains Felipe.

The program has the participation of teachers Jonathan Arias (guitar) and Beatriz Loaiza (bassoon). “Music moves emotions, these times of pandemic have generated vulnerable and fragile states of mind, that is where music plays a very important role, because it affects those emotions in a hopeful and positive way. At JEC we seek comprehensive training, we promote, in addition to artistic skills, also life skills such as knowledge, interpersonal communication, critical and creative thinking, problem solving and conflicts, among other topics that are necessary in the training of students"explains Jonathan, who has been part of the program since March 2019.

Another challenge in Filarmed training is to have more coverage to reach new people, and learn about other educational models, “The students have told us that music classes with Filarmed are the only spaces in which they can interact with other children, since confinement has made it impossible to attend their usual classrooms”says Jonathan.

The Complementary School Day opens a window to creative thinking, active listening and allows us to understand other types of artistic languages that give new meaning to human interaction.

Mariana and Felipe, like other students, share a common dream: become musicians something that for them contributes to their personal and professional growth.

The pandemic has prevented many orchestras from being able to meet in full on the same stage, which has meant having much greater artistic rigor and redistributing the orchestra to work in multiple formats such as chamber groups.

Chamber music is music composed by a small group of instruments, as opposed to orchestral music. Generally it does not require a director. The musicians should be positioned so that they can look at each other, for better coordination. The term chamber comes from the word “room”, because originally it was music to be performed in a room, and not in a large concert hall. They generally go up to a maximum of twenty-three musicians. Classical music, as well as jazz, rock, tangos, American music, Colombian music and other rhythms can be performed in this close and welcoming experience.

For maestro Jorge Pinzón, Filarmed's resident composer, chamber music is much more demanding because each instrumentalist is more exposed to the small ensemble. “The quality of the sound, the density, the articulation of passages, as well as the musical interpretation in general must contain great efficiency and ensure maximum precision in the execution”explains Pinzón.

One of the first examples of what is now identified as chamber music appeared in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time a large amount of music was written for groups of four to seven violas, making up what would be called viol consort or viola ensemble. On the other hand, during the Renaissance era, under the reign of King Francis I, who forced musicians to play inside their rooms, the so-called “Chantres de la chambre”. This style was also inherited by most composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, and taken to its maximum expression and quality by Brahms in the 19th century.

What is the difference between orchestral and chamber music?

The difference between these two groups is that orchestral music is determined by instrumental families, that is, the formation of woodwinds, metals, percussion and strings, in which in each family the same sounds can be duplicated, while, in the chamber groups, each instrumentalist contains independent parts, which leads to greater responsibility.

“The opportunities that the chamber musician obtains are that they require greater concentration, greater interpretive precision, and this makes the musical technical level more effective and productive when joining a symphony orchestra”says Jorge Pinzón.

Current outlook

Chamber music today plays a relevant role in our society since the technical level is constantly enriched, and on the other hand, the chamber repertoire and musical production of new composers increases. “For both the performer and the composers, it is of utmost importance to be part of these noble groups, which increasingly proliferate in an exemplary manner, exalting the musical panorama of our society,” adds Master Pinzón.