6 April, Concert Hall of the Vietnam National Academy of Music, Hanoi
10 April, Hanoi Opera House
After the successes achieved since 2001 in all the artistic and musical activities developed nationally and internationally, the World Youth Orchestra Foundation (WYO) continues its commitment to spreading the ideals of peace and dialogue between peoples through art and music with the “Sounds of brotherhood” project, scheduled for this year in Vietnam. The objective is to promote artistic and cultural cooperation between Italy and Vietnam, developing the artistic, musical and theatrical language of young people and supporting the production of Vietnamese artists.
During 2024, the first of the three years of activity planned in Southeast Asia, “Sounds of brotherhood” will take place thanks to the support of the CDP Foundation and the contribution of LCA Studio Legale, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi, the Consulate General of Italy in Ho Chi Minh City and some important Vietnamese and international partners.
After 23 years of activity, WYO boasts 75 countries represented, 300 international partner universities, 3,500 talents involved, 350 events held and over 10 million people attending its concerts around the world. Numerous institutional recognitions have been obtained, such as those from the UN, UNICEF, the European Commission and the President of the Italian Republic. The project, conceived by the WYO Artistic Director and founder Damiano Giuranna, intends to demonstrate that music should not be limited to being a cultural necessity of an elite, but can represent a powerful tool for communicating values and ideas, a tool of cultural diplomacy capable of stimulating best practices in the artistic, social and political fields.
“After the initiatives successfully implemented in Albania, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Morocco, Lebanon, the United States, Tunisia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria, the World Youth Orchestra Foundation arrives in Southeast Asia, a land of millenary civilizations. Faithful to its mission, the WYO researches and enhances local professionalism, skills and cultural traditions, giving life to artistic experiences that link tradition to contemporaneity, nourishing art, pedagogy, social life and ideas of brotherhood with new blood”, says Adolfo Vannucci, President of the World Youth Orchestra Foundation.
“For more than twenty years, the World Youth Orchestra Foundation has been using music and art as a tool to create community, thoughts and acts of brotherhood, cultural diplomacy and peace, giving Italy a project that represents the country internationally, a project of high academic and institutional prestige“, explains Damiano Giuranna, Artistic and Musical Director of the World Youth Orchestra Foundation.
“Through the ‘Sounds of brotherhood’ project, which further extends its commitment at an international level, the inclusive development of the social and economic fabric of Vietnam is promoted, also thanks to the levers of art and music. The initiative focuses on young talents and the cultural heritage that Italy can express. The CDP Foundation’s support for the project responds to the desire to strengthen collaboration between the two countries by seizing the multiple potentials of Southeast Asia”, declares Francesca Sofia, General Director of the CDP Foundation.
“The Embassy of Italy in Hanoi is glad to support the ‘Sounds of Brotherhood’ project, whose precious contribution in promoting people-to-people exchanges is evident”, declares the Ambassador of Italy to Vietnam, Marco della Seta. “This initiative is at the same time Italian (being realized by the World Youth Orchestra Foundation and mainly financed by the CDP Foundation) and global (since it involves musicians from 18 other countries). It also foresees the active participation of Vietnamese institutions and academies, which I thank for their fundamental support. I therefore wish the best success of this and future similar endeavors.”
“The power of music to bring people together is unique and extraordinary, and has always been a part of LCA, as it has been for me personally, as the founder of Blue Note Milan. We are thrilled to further support the World Youth Orchestra Foundation with this extraordinary project, which has the merit of bringing two distant countries closer together, enhancing Vietnamese cultural traditions and supporting the passion of many young people”, states Giovanni Lega, Managing Partner of LCA Studio Legale.
The project comprises four areas of activity:
- the tour of the World Youth Orchestra, in collaboration with the Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM), scheduled from 6 to 10 April in Hanoi;
- the “Sound Dialogues” theater workshops, led by professional Italian actors in collaboration with the Hanoi Academy of Theater and Cinema;
- the WYO4CHILDREN project, dedicated to the social and cultural growth, through music, of Vietnamese children from disadvantaged backgrounds, in collaboration with the Missionaries of Charity of Binh Duong;
- a multidisciplinary Call for Projects open to Vietnamese artists, without age limits, to support their professional career, in collaboration with the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS).
The World Youth Orchestra, composed of 70 young musicians from universities, academies and conservatories around the world, inaugurates its Vietnamese tour on April 6 at the Concert Hall of the Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi with “A night of the ascending dragon”, a concert created to promote dialogue between the different Italian and Vietnamese repertoires; on April 10, at the Hanoi Opera House the tour continues with the “Opera Puccini Gala“, which celebrates the centenary of the death of Maestro Giacomo Puccini with a concert for soprano, tenor and orchestra.
The theatrical activity “Sound Dialogues“, which will take place in two phases – from 30 March to 11 April and from 2 to 8 September -, dedicated to 25 Vietnamese students from the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema, aims instead to explore and enrich the intercultural dialogue between Italy and Vietnam through the acting and pedagogical work of three Italian theater professionals: Valeria Almerighi, Federico Brugnone and Carolina Leporatti. Their approach is based on the connection between sound and movement that characterizes body language, where the word is not only the bearer of content but also a significant and universal expressive power.
The third activity, WYO4CHILDREN, is aimed at orphaned or abandoned children in Ho Chi Minh City and aims to promote their emotional, individual and social growth through music. The initiative, which started on January 27 and will end in September 2024, includes a program of weekly lessons in which 80 children aged between 5 and 17 years old learn first musical rudiments and to play classical and traditional Vietnamese instruments, create a community choir as well as improve relational skills by playing social games. The support of the Missionaries of Charity of Binh Duong, who made their facility available, about an hour from Ho Chi Minh City, proved fundamental for the realization of the project.
The fourth activity will be carried out together with the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies and involves the publication of a Call for projects aimed at Vietnamese artists of different disciplines (music, theatre or visual arts). The winning projects, selected by a jury of experts, will be financed with a scholarship.
Finally, thanks to the collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome, a conference entitled: “The oriental suggestions of Giacomo Puccini” will be held by prof. Simone Caputo on 9 April at the Department of Italian Studies of the University of Hanoi.
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World Youth Orchestra
The World Youth Orchestra (WYO) was born on 15 September 2001: four days after the tragedy in New York and Washington, sixty-five young musicians from academies, universities and conservatories representing the five continents met in Rome to found a new idea of ”making music”. The project is based on two clear objectives: the testimony of the ideals of peace and brotherhood, and the development of the artistic talent of young people. In the midst of the intifada, the WYO was in Israel in 2003 and 2004, as well as in the Palestinian Territories, in Jordan and it passed critical checkpoints on foot: King Hussein Bridge and Abdala Bridge. In 2006, it was in Tunisia, Algeria and in 2007, the year of Arab culture, in Algiers as the only Western project. The WYO brought his testimony of brotherhood to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Tel Aviv, to the kibbutz of Neve-Shalom-Wahat al-Salam, to Amman, to the casbah of Algiers. The World Youth Orchestra was also named Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF Italy; the President of the Italian Republic awarded the WYO with the Medal and the Silver Plaque for cultural and social merits; the WYO also received the Presidential Medal for the ‘Sounds of Brotherhood for Iran’ project and received an invitation to the UN in New York from the Permanent Mission of Italy and from UNICEF Executive Director. The orchestra has received messages of support from the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the highest European and Italian leaders.
World Youth Orchestra Foundation
The World Youth Orchestra Foundation was established in January 2014 thanks to the experience and results obtained from a project born in 2001 and managed for years by the NGO MusicaEuropa. The Foundation is responsible for managing the activities of the World Youth Orchestra and all the ensembles that sprouted from it. It also deals with advanced musical education, the promotion of young musical talents, as well as with the creation of artistic and musical projects useful for spreading awareness on major social themes such as peace, goodwill, multicultural dialogue and cultural diplomacy.
For further info:
http://www.worldyouthorchestra.it/
https://www.facebook.com/wyofoundation/
Press Office:
Antonella Bartoli – mobile: + 39 339.7560222; email: bartoli.anto@gmail.com
Gabriele Carchella – mobile: + 39 329.4025813; email: carchellag@yahoo.it
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© Photos by @bngboxartography
