Orchestras of the Americas for Social Inclusion_Organization of American States

Saint Lucia PM Praises OAS initiative/ St. Lucia School of Music Launches Mamai-la Di Wai Music Project

Saint Lucia's Prime Minister praised OAS sponsored Marchand Orchestra during Independence Celebrations. Also, the St. Lucia School of Music launched a significant extension of its structured after-school music program based on the OAS Program for Social Inclusion, OASIS.  

› Newsclip: PM praises OAS initiative    › Article: Program's extension

National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica (NYOJ) Launches Clinton Global Initiative

The National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica (NYOJ) today launched a Clinton Global Initiative that commits to expand its music training program from one to three centers over the course of three years. The establishment of a second center will enable the program to reach a further 80 children, and the third center will reach 70 additional students.  

› Full article

LUCELEC Continues Funding for Marchand Youth Orchestra

The Saint Lucia Electricity Services Ltd. (LUCELEC) presented another $30,000 donation to the St. Lucia School of Music as the second installment of a three year commitment to provide funding for tutors of the Marchand Youth Orchestra and Choir.. 

› Read story

Regional trainers benefit from OASIS workshop

Last week, instructors from predominantly Latin America and trainers from Haiti, St Lucia and Jamaica were involved in an intense week-long workshop held at the newly constructed Jamaica Social Investment Fund multi-purpose complex in Trench Town. 

› Read Story 1    › Story 2    › Story 3    › Story 4   

From the Barrio to the Concert Hall

Children at risk from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia will perform melodies they composed in concert at the Kennedy Center. Immediately following their performance, each child will listen to a fully orchestrated version of their melody, performed by a the DC Youth Orchestra. 

› Read all    › Video    › CNN Clip

Playing for Change

A stone's throw away from the haven of alleged drug and gun mastermind Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), itself a refuge for more than 70 inner-city children. Here, they are removed, if only temporarily, from the bedlam that surrounds them. Here, they enter a new world where the sound of violins expands the imagination (...) 

› Read all

The Haiti Philharmonic: Rebuilding After The Quake

The lives of Haitians were upended by a devastating earthquake in January, and musicians were no exception, as Mandalit del Barco reported in February on Weekend Edition Saturday. Conductor David Cesar and Sainte Trinite, the Haiti Philharmonic's chamber group, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to perform for dignitaries at the Organization of American States, in hopes of drawing attention to their music school. 

› Read all

Reaching into Haiti's Cultural Past to Lift its Future

On February 5, the École de Musique Sainte Trinité, together with the OAS and Viva Rio, a Brazilian non-governmental organization working in Haiti, united hands to support the participants and offered a music recital in Bel Air, Port-au-Prince. It was the first time since the earthquake that the Philharmonic Orchestra of Haiti and the children’s choir Les Petits Chanteurs had performed, and they used some of the instruments recovered from the rubble (...)

› Read all

Musicians Bring Harmony to Port-au-Prince

Filling some of the Haitian tragedy’s silent hours, a group of young students and music teachers brought their harmony to a refugee camp with 120 families, in what used to be a factory a little more than three weeks ago. 

› Read all    › ABC Video Clip

Making music powered by Lucelec

The Marchand Youth Orchestra held its first concert on Friday, December 11 in Castries, Saint Lucia. The concert, held in conjunction with the St Lucia School of Music’s end of term String Department Concert, marked the beginning of a potentially life-changing project for young people from the Marchand community.

› Read all

Yele Haïti s'associe à l'Ecole de Musique Sainte Trinité et l'OEA pour lancer la Jeune Orchestre d'Haïti

Haïti: Yele Haïti a annoncé mardi qu'elle s'est associée avec l'Ecole de Musique Sainte Trinité, la plus importante école de musique d'Haïti, et l'Organisation des Etats Américains (OEA) pour lancer la Jeune Orchestre d'Haïti.

› Read all

Music for social change: underprivileged children interpret the great classics OAS webpage article

Children and youth from underprivileged neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, interpreted some of the great compositions of Classical music and Haitian folk music arrangements alongside professional musicians Sunday in the third and final concert of a new regional initiative led by the Organization of American States and Haiti to prevent youth violence and reduce school drop out rates in the Caribbean.

› Read all

A Triumphant Sunday

At the introduction the instrumentalist created a negro-spiritual atmosphere. The sopranos called the bases who in turn responded. Right after the motives propagated joyfully and contagiously throughout all the voices in the ensemble, creating a complex thread of echoes, direct and indirect imitations and interlacing counterpoints; as if they were drawers opening and closing.          (in French)

› Read all

The OAS/FEMCIDI Orchestra Program for Youth at Risk was launched with a moving concert at Courtleigh Auditorium.

According to a local Jamaican trainer, Ann McNamee, “this has been one of the most successful musical adventures I’ve ever been involved in and I’ve been involved in a lot over the years. It has not been easy with all the challenges, but the over 80 dedicated musicians playing today feel a great sense of accomplishment that no money could ever buy”.

› Read all

Marchand Youth Orchestra & Choir Concert The Voice, Saint Lucia Journal

The closing ceremony of the OAS-sponsored training workshop for Tutors who will be teaching the Marchand Youth Orchestra and Choir culminated with two very successful concerts, given at the Entrepot Human Resource Centre, on Tuesday 13 October 2009. Both concerts, one in the afternoon for schoolchildren featuring the workshop choir and string orchestra, and one for the public and special invitees in the evening, were well attended and the audiences very impressed by the high level of work displayed after just eight days of training.

› Read all