Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra is a program of Jeunesses Musicales International. It was founded in 1949 by Igor Markevitch
but its permanent structure dates back to 1970, when Gilles Lefebvre consolidated the world’s first youth orchestra. During this period the orchestra had the residence in Canada, from 1988 to 2004 it moved to Berlin and actually its headquarters is in Spain with the support of Valencian region.
became its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. It is composed of 100 musicians from 40 countries and it has toured in China
, The Netherlands, Spain
, Austria
, Cyprus
and Germany
.In Summer 2008 it travelled to Canada
where maestro Franz Paul Decker conducted.
The World Orchestra started this new period in Valencia showing its artistic project to China to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of peace between China and Japan. The Netherlands
and Austria
were next. The orchestra came back in the Winter of 2007 to the Kurhaus (Scheveningen)
, the place were The World Orchestra was born. It has played in Cyprus
and Germany
(its previous administrative home) in the Winter of 2007 to perform in the Berlin Philharmonie.
The World Orchestra has made performances in Spain. Apart from symphonic concerts in numerous concert halls as El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
in Valencia, Palau de la Música of Valencia, Teatro Monumental of Madrid or GREC Festival of Barcelona
, the orchestra ran a Chamber Music festival, with concerts for String Quartet
, Brass
ensemble
and Percussion Group. JMWO was also the resident orchestra of Nits de la Mediterrània Music festival and also was in charge of the music of the Opera ‘Puss in Boots’ (a co-production with Teatro Real
of Madrid
and Teatre Liceu
of Barcelona). Some of JMWO musicians took part in the filming of new movie on Valencian composer Martin y Soler. One concert was for the finals of the 32nd America’s Cup Competition. The World Orchestra joined forces with Orquesta de Valencia with almost 150 musicians on stage.
Its concerts have been broadcast live in numerous TV programs and Radio stations and have been recorded for RTVE
, RTVV, RNE, and the EBO
. During its tour in China the Valencian TV-RTVV made a documentary film called Sound for Peace.
includes pieces by Tchaikovsky, Markevitch, Bartók, Ginastera, Turina, Adams
, Mossolov, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvořák
, Ravel, Beethoven, Piazzolla, Ibert, Zheng Lu & Ma Hongye, Sibelius, Gershwin, Bernstein
, Stravinsky, Mozart, Martín y Soler, Falla
, Stylianou and Xavier Montsalvatge
.
's O Bali, Josep Vicent's composition Ouverture Release for percussion trio and orchestra and Andrés Valero's GP, f-1.
It was in Canada in 1968 that Gilles Lefebvre proposed the transformation of this ‘orchestral conference’ into an ensemble that would develop under the wand of an experienced conductor. Lefebvre envisaged that such an ensemble would receive and continue the education of the best young musicians of the Jeunesses Musicales member countries. Right from its inception, this project in music education was noted for its rigour and professional quality. These standards have persisted to the present day and it has attained world recognition. Success has come quickly due to the high artistic quality; furthermore, the World Orchestra has become a symbol, through excellence in music, of solidarity and co-operation between the nations of the world.
In 1986, the orchestra established its headquarters in Berlin and offered concerts in the name of peace on both sides of the infamous wall that divided the city. Since then, the World Orchestra has been registered as a harmonious association of musicians without frontiers. As recognition of its peace-building efforts, in 1996 the UNESCO granted it the distinction of ‘Artist for Peace’ with which it has travelled the world over.
During the 1960s and 70s, WOJM went on several tours to Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, the U.K., Japan, the U.S. and Switzerland under such outstanding masters as Zubin Mehta
, Leonard Bernstein
, Michael Tilson Thomas
and Serge Baudo
.
In the 80s, Walter Weller, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Eduardo Mata, Jeffrey Tate, Vernon Handley, Charles Dutoit and Michel Tabachnik among many others directed the orchestra. That period saw the orchestra travelling to Germany, Hungary, France, Spain, the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Uruguay and Argentina.
In the 90s, the World Orchestra was to be seen in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, France, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Switzerland, and Israel. In those years the baton was held by Kurt Masur, Franz-Paul Decker, Antonio Pappano, En Shao, Yuri Temirkanov and Kent Nagano and well known soloists as Bobby McFerrin or Yehudi Menuhin joined the orchestra.
With the status of Artist for Peace, the World Orchestra performed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of State of Israel (1998), the 350th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia (1998), and in the commemorative events marking the beginning of the Second World War in Warsaw (1999). In the year 2000, it toured south-eastern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, former Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia).
Igor Markevitch
Igor Markevitch was a Ukrainian, Italian, and French composer and conductor.- Origin :Igor Markevich was born in Kiev, to an old family of Ukrainian Cossack starshyna ennobled in the 18th century...
but its permanent structure dates back to 1970, when Gilles Lefebvre consolidated the world’s first youth orchestra. During this period the orchestra had the residence in Canada, from 1988 to 2004 it moved to Berlin and actually its headquarters is in Spain with the support of Valencian region.
A look in the recent past
The Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra has had its headquarters in Valencia, Spain since 2005, when maestro Josep VicentJosep Vicent
Josep Vicent is the artistic director and principal conductor of The World Orchestra.Josep Vicent’a career as a musician and conductor spans over two decades...
became its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. It is composed of 100 musicians from 40 countries and it has toured in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, The Netherlands, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.In Summer 2008 it travelled to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where maestro Franz Paul Decker conducted.
The World Orchestra started this new period in Valencia showing its artistic project to China to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of peace between China and Japan. The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
were next. The orchestra came back in the Winter of 2007 to the Kurhaus (Scheveningen)
Kurhaus (Scheveningen)
The Kurhaus is a prominent building located in Scheveningen, The Hague in The Netherlands .- History :It was built between 1884 and 1885 by the German architects Johann Friedrich Henkenhaf and Friedrich Ebert . It consisted originally of a concert hall and a hotel with 120 rooms. Having suffered...
, the place were The World Orchestra was born. It has played in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(its previous administrative home) in the Winter of 2007 to perform in the Berlin Philharmonie.
The World Orchestra has made performances in Spain. Apart from symphonic concerts in numerous concert halls as El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía
Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts is an opera house and cultural centre in Valencia, Spain...
in Valencia, Palau de la Música of Valencia, Teatro Monumental of Madrid or GREC Festival of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, the orchestra ran a Chamber Music festival, with concerts for String Quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, Brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
and Percussion Group. JMWO was also the resident orchestra of Nits de la Mediterrània Music festival and also was in charge of the music of the Opera ‘Puss in Boots’ (a co-production with Teatro Real
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Teatre Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
of Barcelona). Some of JMWO musicians took part in the filming of new movie on Valencian composer Martin y Soler. One concert was for the finals of the 32nd America’s Cup Competition. The World Orchestra joined forces with Orquesta de Valencia with almost 150 musicians on stage.
Its concerts have been broadcast live in numerous TV programs and Radio stations and have been recorded for RTVE
RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. or Corporación Radiotelevisión Española is the state-owned public corporation that assumed the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service from Ente Público Radiotelevisión Española in 2007...
, RTVV, RNE, and the EBO
EBO
The Hellenic Arms Industry has been the main arms manufacturer of Greece. Its creation is linked to a desire of Greek governments for "complete self-sufficiency" of Greece in the areas of personal and other weapons .-History:A proposal in 1975 by a big Greek chemical...
. During its tour in China the Valencian TV-RTVV made a documentary film called Sound for Peace.
Repertoire
The extensive repertoire of The World Orchestra under the baton of Josep VicentJosep Vicent
Josep Vicent is the artistic director and principal conductor of The World Orchestra.Josep Vicent’a career as a musician and conductor spans over two decades...
includes pieces by Tchaikovsky, Markevitch, Bartók, Ginastera, Turina, Adams
Adams
-Places:The Moon*Adams New Zealand*Adams River, New ZealandPhilippines*Adams, Ilocos NorteUnited States*Adams, California*Adams, California, former name of Corte Madera, California*Adams, Decatur County, Indiana*Adams, Morgan County, Indiana...
, Mossolov, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Ravel, Beethoven, Piazzolla, Ibert, Zheng Lu & Ma Hongye, Sibelius, Gershwin, Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Stravinsky, Mozart, Martín y Soler, Falla
Falla
Falla is a locality situated in Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 463 inhabitants in 2005....
, Stylianou and Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
.
Guest Conductors and soloists
Numerous Guest Conductors and soloists joined the orchestra during this period such as Mihaela Ursuleasa, Iván Martín, Yayoi Toda, Gwyneth Wentink, Yaron Traub, Mayte Martín, Roberto Balistreri, Enric Martínez Castignani, Alina Pogostkina, Marisa Martins, Mª Luz Martínez or Miguel Zapater. Next Summer 2008 The World Orchestra will be joined by cellist Laurence Lesser, violinist Mitsuoko Usioda soprano Marianne Fiset and maestro Franz Paul Decker.World premières
The Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra has premiered five pieces by new composers: Good News From Beijing by Zheng Lu & Ma Hongye, Pax Haganum by Joan Albert Amargós, Ketsana by Emmanuel Séjourné and the new piece specially written by Séjourné for the finals of the 32nd America’s Cup. In Summer 2008 it will premiere the revised version of José EvangelistaJosé Evangelista
José Evangelista is a Spanish composer and music educator who is based in Montreal, Canada. A member of the Canadian League of Composers, the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, Evangelista is known for his commitment to contemporary classical...
's O Bali, Josep Vicent's composition Ouverture Release for percussion trio and orchestra and Andrés Valero's GP, f-1.
UNESCO Artist for Peace
As UNESCO Artist for Peace its concerts are committed to peace, interculturality and cooperation between cultures. During the two first seasons held in Valencia The World Orchestra visited China to commemorate the Chinese-Japanese Peace Treaty. Besides numerous concerts for peace in Kurhaus (The Hague), The World Orchestra reinforced its engagement with peace travelling to Cyprus to play concerts for war refugees of the armed conflict between Israel and the Lebanon and performing in Barcelona’s GREC Festival as a homage to those who lived the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War.History
The World Orchestra came into being with the creation of a young orchestra for the Jeunesses Musicales International project. In the period 1949 to 1969, in the Netherlands, the violinist Arthur Grumiaux, Director of the Igor Markevitch Orchestra and other key musicians resolved, as part of the Jeunesses Musicales assemblies, to put together an international orchestra inspired in the vision of Sir Robert Mayer, creator of the orchestral concerts for children in the 1920s.It was in Canada in 1968 that Gilles Lefebvre proposed the transformation of this ‘orchestral conference’ into an ensemble that would develop under the wand of an experienced conductor. Lefebvre envisaged that such an ensemble would receive and continue the education of the best young musicians of the Jeunesses Musicales member countries. Right from its inception, this project in music education was noted for its rigour and professional quality. These standards have persisted to the present day and it has attained world recognition. Success has come quickly due to the high artistic quality; furthermore, the World Orchestra has become a symbol, through excellence in music, of solidarity and co-operation between the nations of the world.
In 1986, the orchestra established its headquarters in Berlin and offered concerts in the name of peace on both sides of the infamous wall that divided the city. Since then, the World Orchestra has been registered as a harmonious association of musicians without frontiers. As recognition of its peace-building efforts, in 1996 the UNESCO granted it the distinction of ‘Artist for Peace’ with which it has travelled the world over.
During the 1960s and 70s, WOJM went on several tours to Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, the U.K., Japan, the U.S. and Switzerland under such outstanding masters as Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
and Serge Baudo
Serge Baudo
Serge Baudo is a French conductor, the son of the oboist Étienne Baudo. He is the nephew of the cellist Paul Tortelier....
.
In the 80s, Walter Weller, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Eduardo Mata, Jeffrey Tate, Vernon Handley, Charles Dutoit and Michel Tabachnik among many others directed the orchestra. That period saw the orchestra travelling to Germany, Hungary, France, Spain, the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Uruguay and Argentina.
In the 90s, the World Orchestra was to be seen in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, France, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Switzerland, and Israel. In those years the baton was held by Kurt Masur, Franz-Paul Decker, Antonio Pappano, En Shao, Yuri Temirkanov and Kent Nagano and well known soloists as Bobby McFerrin or Yehudi Menuhin joined the orchestra.
With the status of Artist for Peace, the World Orchestra performed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of State of Israel (1998), the 350th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia (1998), and in the commemorative events marking the beginning of the Second World War in Warsaw (1999). In the year 2000, it toured south-eastern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, former Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia).
External links
- The World Orchestra official page
- Maestro Josep Vicent official page
- Jeunesses Musicales International
- UnescoUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra