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Penderecki European Music Centre launches youth orchestra

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 22.09.2015 09:42
A new professional orchestra bringing together some of the most promising students of music academies has been founded in Poland.
Photo: Facebook.com/Santander OrchestraPhoto: Facebook.com/Santander Orchestra

Called Santander Orchestra, it is the brainchild of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, southern Poland, the MyWay Foundation which promotes talented musicians and Bank Zachodni WBK, which is part of the Santander International Group.

Orchestra managing director Artur Balas told a press conference in Warsaw that after several weeks of rehearsals and workshops with prominent tutors, the 64-strong orchestra will go on a five-city tour of Poland, performing under the baton of Krzysztof Penderecki and the American conductor John Axelrod.

John Axelrod, who has conducted many leading Polish orchestras over the last fourteen years, has told Radio Poland that creating an orchestra from scratch is a unique experience.

“When you have a blank canvas, like being in a laboratory, you never quite know what the results will be but I tend to think of an orchestra a little bit the way Michelangelo looked at marble. He already saw the sculpture inside the marble. […] I’m certainly no Michelangelo but what I can already see is that the quality of these young musicians is going to create a lasting impression on Polish culture,” Axelrod said.

The aim of the Santander Orchestra project is not only to give young musicians an opportunity to develop their skills under the guidance of top-calibre artists, but also to help them in their professional careers.

They are being offered classes in self-promotion, media communication, finance management and copyright law. (mk/rg/rk)

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