Ambassador
Ambassador's Event
AMBASSADOR WAYNE PRESENT WITH THE YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE DISTRICT OF SAN MARTIN
September 2, 2008
Ambassador Wayne visited the Buenos Aires neighborhood of General San Martin to share with District Mayor Ricardo Ivoskus a master class specially organized by the U.S. Embassy for the Youth Orchestra of San Martin, conducted by Maestro Armando Celán. The event took place at the Complejo Cultural Plaza and was led by Jooyong Ahn –professor of conducting and director of Orchestras for the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Maestro Jooyong Ahn was visiting Argentina under the auspices of the program “Teachers del Norte - Pianists del Sur.”
The program “Teachers del Norte - Pianists del Sur”, an initiative of the Argentine pianist Mirian Conti, is sponsored by the US Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs; with the support of the Argentine Embassy in Washington, the Argentine Consulate in New York and several U.S. and Argentine private organizations.
Aimed at strengthening relations between both countries, the program “Teachers del Norte - Pianists del Sur” was created to offer Argentine young pianists the opportunity of traveling to the United States in 2009 on scholarships, to participate in festivals and international competitions and attend summer courses at institutions like the Eastman School of Music, the University of Utah, the Brighman Young University, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, the University of Tennessee and Steinway Hall in New York.
Piano auditions were carried out during August 25, 26 and 27 at the Franz Liszt Musical Studies Center. Pianists selected to travel to the United States were Jonathan B. Guelfand (17) from the province of Buenos Aires; Hugo Soria Olivera (15) from the city of Mendoza, and Javier Albornoz (21), Agustín Muriago (21) and Tamara Benítez (19) from the city of Buenos Aires.
The prestigious jury panel composed of Mirian Conti, Argentine pianist and piano professor at the Juilliard School; Jooyong Ahn, Conductor and Director of Orchestras for the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga; Bonnie Barret, Steinway & Son’s Manager of Concert and Artist Activities for the Americas; Douglas Humpherys, President of the Piano Department at the Eastman School of Music in New York; Jeffrey James, Arts Consultant and founder of ClassicalCDs.net; and Paul Pollei, Director and Founder of The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation and Competition.
Apart from selecting five talented Argentine pianists, Mr. Paul Pollei and Mr. Douglas Humpherys gave piano master classes at the Beethoven Music School in Buenos Aires and the Gilardo Gilardi Music School in La Plata. Ms. Bonnie Barrett and Mr. Jeffrey James lectured in La Plata on How to Promote a Career through the Internet. Maestro Ahn gave two master classes: one for the Youth Orchestra of the City of Buenos Aires and the other one for the Youth Orchestra of the District of General San Martin. Also, pianists Mirian Conti and Douglas Humpherys gave several piano concerts in Buenos Aires and at the Argentine Theatre in La Plata.
The Argentine Mozarteum organized a free concert at the Opera Theatre featuring the five scholarship winners on September 3.
