Las jóvenes orquestas y la formación musical de carácter profesional / Youth orchestras and professional musical training

(Article published in issue no. 118 of ADE, the magazine of the Spanish Association of Stage Directors. Madrid, November–December 2007.
Also published in Neuma, the magazine of the Music School of the University of Talca (Chile), 2008)


A lot has changed in the world of Spanish music since the publication, on October 28, 1983, in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, of the Ministerial Order dated the 17th of the same month and year, establishing the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (Joven Orquesta Nacional de España). Since then, an impressive network of concert halls has been developed and, more importantly, a large number of symphony orchestras have been created to give them purpose, thus ensuring the continuity of musical life in the most prominent venues. Anyone who remembers the symphonic wasteland that existed in this country well into the 1980s -when one could count the truly "audible" orchestras on the fingers of one hand- must acknowledge that the effort has been enormous, as has the financial investment that enabled their creation and continues to sustain them.
Thus, in just over a decade, we witnessed the establishment of a large number of professional orchestras, most of them publicly funded, which are now part of the Spanish Association of Symphony Orchestras (AEOS), comprising 28 ensembles from nearly all of Spain's autonomous communities. These range from the three orchestras based in Madrid (National Orchestra, RTVE Orchestra, Madrid Community Orchestra, and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra) to the four in Andalusia (Seville, Málaga, Córdoba, and Granada), including the Canary Islands (Las Palmas and Tenerife), the Balearic Islands (Ciutat de Palma), Galicia (A Coruña and Santiago), the Basque Country (Bilbao and San Sebastián), Catalonia (Barcelona, Liceu, Cadaqués, and Vallès), Extremadura (Badajoz), Castilla y León (Valladolid), Navarre (Pamplona), Murcia, Valencia (Community and Municipal), and Asturias (Principality and City of Oviedo).
Thanks to this, the symphonic landscape in Spain is now well supported in nearly all autonomous communities, although some, like Aragón and La Rioja, still lag behind, with orchestral activity remaining an unresolved issue. To the aforementioned professional orchestras, AEOS adds two more, completing the total of 28: the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE) and the National Youth Orchestra of Catalonia (JONC), which serve as a bridge between musical training and the professional world.

The creation of JONDE, and the subsequent widespread emergence of youth orchestras, marked the beginning of a new way of understanding musical training in our country. For decades, musical education had been mired in a deep and seemingly insoluble crisis. Though widely acknowledged and denounced by all sectors involved, neither these sectors nor the government seemed able to find a suitable, lasting solution.
It is well known that the near-total neglect by public authorities toward both amateur and specialized music education for decades became painfully evident with the widespread establishment of concert halls and orchestras mentioned earlier. This development forced the massive importation of foreign instrumentalists to make up for the scandalous inefficiency of our educational system in training qualified professionals in sufficient numbers.
Given that the problems caused by the Ministry of Education and Science's failure to adequately address the situation fell squarely on the Ministry of Culture -at the time directly responsible for most of the country's musical life before the advent of regional governments-, it is no surprise that the solution was sought within the jurisdiction of the latter. Without encroaching upon the educational competencies of the former, this solution aimed to alleviate as many deficiencies as possible.
In this regard, the Spanish National Youth Orchestra served as a diplomatic signal from the cultural authorities to those in education, indicating the direction that musical instruction needed to take in the classroom. It wasn't until well into the 1990s that the Ministry of Education and Science finally began to "clean up" musical education by regulating it according to academic standards that had proven effective worldwide. This included giving music greater prominence in general education and clearly defining the roles of institutions -reserving conservatories exclusively for professional training.
For all these reasons, it is not surprising that the creation of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra generated enormous interest among cultural and educational sectors alike -interest that was fully justified with the public presentation, just a few months later, of the work produced during its first sessions. In those still-difficult years, it was clear that the young musicians comprising the orchestra's first cohort were pioneering a new way of understanding music in our country, through a professionalizing experience of a magnitude unknown in the musical scarcity of the time.

From its inception, JONDE was founded with the following objectives:

a) To foster the artistic vocation of professional musicians;
b) To encourage young Spaniards with an interest in musical study; and
c) To promote the creation of similar orchestras throughout Spain.

Almost twenty-five years later, all three objectives have been achieved with great success. The results of the first two goals are indisputable, and, in parallel with the association of professional orchestras, the Spanish Association of Youth Orchestras (AEJO) has also been active for a number of years. In addition to JONDE and JONC -already mentioned as full members of AEOS-, the association includes the youth orchestras of Galicia, Murcia, Madrid, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, the Valencian Community, Asturias, Soria, the Basque Country, Extremadura, and Castilla y León. All are public initiatives, alongside one fully self-managed Madrid-based ensemble, the Iuventas Symphony Orchestra. Others, such as the Youth Orchestra of Andalusia, are not listed because they have not yet joined the association, although they have been very active for many years.
To achieve their professional training goals, nearly all youth orchestras follow an operational model that can be summarized as follows:

- Rigorous selection of candidates
- Activities organized in intensive, periodic sessions
- A concert tour at the end of each session
- Recording projects

Regarding the first point, the requirements demanded vary considerably from one orchestra to another. While JONDE selects its members exclusively from those who are either currently pursuing or have already completed higher-level studies on their instrument -meaning all are of legal age- most of the other youth orchestras include not only these students but also those at the intermediate level. As a result, they include a large number of minors, which necessitates certain organizational measures tailored to this particularity.
As for the second point, the format known as the Encuentro (working period) has proven ideal for the pedagogical and artistic development of youth orchestras. It is therefore not surprising that this model has become the norm for such ensembles. These sessions are typically held during school holidays -Christmas, Easter, and summer- because most members are still students due to their age. The workshops last between two and three weeks and are generally structured in the following phases:

- First phase, lasting about four or five days, consists of sectional rehearsals to prepare the repertoire (previously sent to the members for individual study) under the guidance of a teaching staff (usually one professor per orchestral specialty), often including top Spanish and international specialists.
- Second phase, of similar length, during which the guest conductor leads full rehearsals of the scheduled repertoire.
- Third phase, consisting usually of a concert tour, the number of performances varying depending on the circumstances (on average three or four concerts, though there are sessions with only one, or as many as five or more).

It is worth noting that, although the second and third phases mirror the structure of any professional orchestra, the inclusion of the first phase -sectional rehearsals- is what sets these youth orchestras apart. Their members, understandably, still lack the skills of a professional musician to prepare a full repertoire at the speed required to perform a different program each week. It is precisely this practice that youth orchestras emphasize most, so that by the time members transition into professional life, much of the groundwork has already been laid.
Youth orchestras also commonly provide opportunities for other types of young professionals beyond instrumentalists. Special attention is often given to young conductors, who usually participate as assistants to the guest conductor, as well as young composers, who are frequently given the valuable opportunity to experience the orchestra "from the inside." These composers can hear their works performed with a level of rehearsal rarely available in the professional world, where preparation and performance schedules are necessarily much tighter.
As for the artistic and pedagogical objectives, youth orchestras must never lose sight of their role as pre-professional spaces, given the age and level of training of their members. These spaces must address the musicians' development in at least three distinct, yet complementary, areas:

- Technical-musical development, in everything related to improving the players' proficiency -not just technically, but also in terms of their comprehensive musical education. For this reason, it is essential that the work does not revolve solely around the practical preparation of a specific repertoire assigned to each session (a repertoire that typically exceeds what can be covered in conservatories). Instead, it should be complemented by analytical, historical, and critical insights into the music, provided by qualified instructors (such as composers -especially when working on contemporary pieces by living composers, which also has a strong educational value by generating interest among young people in current musical creation-, musicologists, etc.).
- Chamber music practice, because although the primary goal of a youth orchestra may appear to be the performance of symphonic repertoire, a significant amount of chamber music practice is necessary to develop a correct sense of one's role within an ensemble -particularly for instrumentalists who, due to their age and level, may not have had this experience previously.
- Professional preparation, that is, introducing young musicians to the types of professional situations they are likely to encounter in their careers. Thus, if a member stays in a youth orchestra for about two or three years, their participation should be planned in such a way that they gain experience not only in preparing standard symphonic concerts (in ensembles of varying size -from large orchestras to classical orchestras, including chamber music and symphonic bands in their different formations), but also in pit orchestra practice (for opera and ballet), educational concerts, studio recordings, film and television soundtrack recording, and more.

Using these three foundational pillars, it becomes possible to define the rest of the organizational and programming aspects. In this regard, it is essential to carefully select the music director and teaching staff for each session based on its specific focus, and to establish a repertoire that not only suits the technical level of the participants but is also musically enriching and stylistically balanced.
A special mention should be made of contemporary repertoire, which is often given a prominent role. In particular, efforts are made to include works by living Spanish composers, both young and seniors, who can attend the rehearsals and actively participate in the preparation of their pieces.

Naturally, all these training activities represent only one part -the part we might broadly call technical- of the skills that a youth orchestra aims to foster in its members. But there is another aspect that those of us involved with these ensembles consider equally -if not more- important, since it directly impacts the future fluidity of professional activity, both in the relationships among performers themselves and in their interactions with audiences and various sectors of society.
This is what we might call the ethical dimension of the performer, without which it is impossible to provide a complete and holistic education. Such education must concern not only the musician but also the individual, understood as a member of a social environment which, in the case of music, is inseparable from professional activity.
Youth orchestras, as high-intensity training environments, offer an ideal framework in which to develop to the fullest all those positive attitudes that should underpin collective musical work: from camaraderie and cooperation, to humility, respect, and openness -basic principles of social behavior and, therefore, ideal vehicles for instilling the sense of responsibility expected of every member of a symphonic or chamber ensemble.
Achieving this is largely possible thanks to the kind of close-knit environment in which these sessions take place. One must keep in mind that for a period of fifteen to twenty days, the orchestra members, technical staff, and artistic team -including the guest conductor and instructors- engage in intense workdays that begin early in the morning and often continue in more relaxed, social ways well into the night. For this type of close interaction to work successfully, it is essential that each and every participant understands and embraces their role -not only within the orchestral framework but also within the human group. This necessarily means setting aside vanity and arrogance, which, besides being useless, would make artistic and social coexistence impossible during such an intensive and prolonged period of immersion.
If to all these fundamentally educational reasons we add those derived from the musical practice itself and the public performances in which the work is periodically shared, we can easily understand why the model that originally inspired the creation of these kinds of orchestras was -and still is- so successful. Just as important, it shows why this model can be adapted to any other artistic discipline where, sooner or later, contact between the academic and professional worlds becomes inevitable.


José Luis Turina
Artistic Director of the JONDE and President of the AEJO

Madrid, October 2007