Young artists build bridge between U.S., Mexico

SANDPOINT — In a world that sometimes feels as if it’s coming apart at the seams, music has the power to pull people to- gether.

And in a heated political environment where some propose to erect a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, a Sandpoint music conservatory has been steadfastly building a bridge between the countries, using music to show that, even yet, we are more alike than we are different.

For the fourth year in a row, the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint will host student musicians from Mexico as part of its Young Artists Exchange Program. The first year, four students traveled with a guest conductor from Mexicali to create an international orchestra that rehearsed over the course of a couple weeks and performed in a community concert.

This year, another five musicians will travel north with a conductor from Tijuana.

“They’ve all been phenomenal musicians and conductors — wonderful at working with kids,” said Ruth Klinginsmith, co-founder of the conservatory and its director of community programs. “They each bring a different perspective and a new approach, so the kids are all stretched in various ways.”

Conducting this summer will be Tomás Amilcar Malagamba Jasis, a professor of guitar in classical, Latin American and contemporary styles. He also plays many other instruments, is a professor and director at Benning Fine Arts Academy, with music degrees from Universidad Autonoma de Baja California and Conservatoriao Amadeo Roldan.

“The guest conductor and students are coming from various orchestras in Tijuana located at the Center of Art and Music,” Klinginsmith explained. “These orchestras are part of a larger organization called REDES 2025, which provides orchestral training and instruments to all youth in Baja California, based on the El Sistema programs.”

El Sistema — a publicly financed music education program founded in Venezuela in 1975 that since has taken root in the United States and elsewhere — teaches the value of building community as it educates students in developing musical technique, Klinginsmith pointed out.

For 2016, the Young Artists Exchange Program becomes just one facet of the conservatory’s summer offerings, which have expanded to include vocal music and a guitar master class.

Beginning tomorrow, Music Conservatory of Sandpoint will host a Choir Camp, which runs from July 18-22, followed by Orchestra Camp, scheduled for July 25-29. Students from both sessions will be part of a free community concert on July 29 at the Panida Theater.

The exchange students, in particular, will get a full taste of Sandpoint, as they arrive to take part in the orchestra camp and community concert, then stay on for an extra week to perform in the Festival at Sandpoint Family Concert on Aug. 7.

“The Festival helped sponsor some of our exchange students this year,” said Klinginsmith. “And it’s a great experience for them to be able to work under (Spokane Symphony Orchestra Conductor) Gary Sheldon.”

The free concert on July 29 will include choir members already involved in the conservatory’s choral program during the school year, as well as students in the summer Choir Camp. Those 30 youngsters will join another 40 musicians playing in the youth orchestra.

“It will be a very full stage at the Panida,” Klinginsmith said.

When the students from Mexico — which include Fernanda Rodríguez Osuna on flute, Michelle Annete Cisneros Chavarria on oboe, Misael Antonio Zabala Lopez on clarinet, Zulma Lucia Escobedo Facundo on violin and Santiago Rojo Acosta playing bassoon — join local musicians for the orchestra camp, they will have exactly one week to prepare their selections for the community concert. The tight deadline seems to get creative juices flowing, according to Klinginsmith.

“There’s so much energy when these kids are working together,” she said. “I’m always amazed at how well they do in such a short amount of time.”

The July 29 program will be made up of selections such as the chamber orchestra playing Beethoven’s overture to the ballet “Prometheus” and a combined choir and orchestra performance of the popular classic song, “Stand by Me.” The concert also will feature pieces by Handel, Carold Nunez and other composers.

By adding choral music to the mix, the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint is continuing an expansion that included sending its choral conductor, John Fitzgerald, to Mexico this past spring to present a master class. That visit represented a first for the Mexican students, who attend choir classes as a “stepping stone” to orchestra, learning the fundamentals of sight-reading, pitch and tone production vocally before attempting them on musical instruments.

According to Klinginsmith, the conservatory — whose programs are all grant funded — has been able to broaden its offerings thanks to increased effectiveness in writing those grants.

“We’re always exploring new options,” she said.

The remainder of support, she added, comes from a growing team of community members and volunteers who help to keep the conservatory running smoothly.

Cost for the choir and orchestra camps is $40 for half-day attendance and $60 for full day, which includes a chamber workshop.

Maestro Tomás Amilcar will give a midweek guitar concert on Thursday, July 28, at 6 p.m., at the Heartwood Center, followed by a free guitar master class on Monday, Aug. 1, at 4:30 p.m., at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint.

For registration or additional information on the camps, concerts or master class, call the conservatory at 208-265-4444.