Así suena España-Musical outreach
The "This is how Spain sounds" project brought together music schools and students in recitals, open rehearsals, and talks, turning a concert into a vibrant and multidisciplinary experience that celebrated the richness of Spanish music.
"Así suena España" became more than just a concert
As the idea for the concert "Thus Sounds Spain" took shape, it became increasingly clear that the project would extend beyond the activities of the Opus 125 Symphony Orchestra.
The title of the concert dictated the spirit of the project: we wanted to show our community the meaning of Spanish music through three of its most distinguished composers. However, this "showing" required more than simply presenting the works to the audience; otherwise, the event would remain a fleeting memory, an exotic moment whose effect would fade within days.
Following the success of our previous project "Tänze der Welt" (Dances of the World), we wanted to once again create an interdisciplinary initiative that could connect various institutions through the common ground we could find between them.
Thus, we linked the guitar classes from the music schools of Mönchengladbach and Kreis Viersen with the guitar classes of the Robert Schumann Hochschule through a joint recital held on Thursday, April 25, at the Carl Orff Hall of the Mönchengladbach Music School. Before the concert, young students and their parents had the opportunity to speak with RSH students Ivan Praljak and Konstantin Schloesser, who shared their experiences studying guitar professionally, their preparation methods, and interesting anecdotes.
Through Dorothee Vollmer, a cellist of the orchestra and mentor of the AG "Creative Space" at Gesamtschule Hardt, we once again integrated a group of talented young people interested in digital media and design. Together with students from the school newspaper "Chaos Zeitung" of the Gymnasium an der Gartenstrasse, they documented the entire project.
To prepare for this, a lecture took place on Thursday, April 18, at Gesamtschule Hardt, where the musical director of the Opus 125 Symphony Orchestra, Javier Álvarez, presented Manuel de Falla's work "El Amor Brujo." For nearly 40 minutes, students learned about the history of the piece, its structure, the plot, and how the composer represents the characters through music, all accompanied by piano excerpts.
The project's central event was the open rehearsal held on Saturday, April 20, which welcomed all students involved in the project, guitar students from Mönchengladbach and Kreis Viersen, and the general public. Here, attendees witnessed how an orchestra prepares for a concert, but above all, how the accompaniment of soloists is rehearsed, as the program included Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto Andaluz."
Ultimately, the drive to bring music to the community and present a culture through its music transformed an amateur orchestra concert into a multidisciplinary project, encompassing participants of all ages.