This month, from October 23 to 27, 2023, Montreal will have the honor of welcoming a group of 65 young musicians from the Symphonic Band of the municipality of Cajica, Colombia. These young people, aged between 16 and 28, will gather in the Canadian city to participate in the "Canada-Colombia 2023 Cultural and Musical Exchange Project," an initiative coordinated by Pilar Jiménez in collaboration with the Instituto Legados. The fundamental purpose of this project is to foster an enriching intercultural and musical dialogue among young musicians who are immersed in different musical training processes in both Canada and Colombia.
We would like to highlight briefly some of the activities in which the Symphonic Band will be involved during their stay in Canada:
- Three free concerts that will take place in the cities of Ottawa and Montreal.
- Masterclasses, led by distinguished professors from universities in Montreal, which will enhance their musical training.
- The opportunity to attend a concert by the prestigious Montreal Symphony Orchestra, an experience that will undoubtedly enrich their musical appreciation.
- A musical exchange with guest musicians from Montreal's universities who will join the Banda Sinfónica de Cajicá to perform in one of the concerts.
- The offering of a percussion workshop exploring Colombian rhythms, aimed at young people from music-focused schools.
CONCERTS
More information on the cultural and musical exchange: pilarjs.gestionmusic@gmail.com
Cajica Symphonic Band, Colombia is a group of 65 young musicians aged between 15 and 28. It is one of the representative ensembles of the Municipal Institute of Culture and Tourism of Cajicá, which is responsible for planning, directing, executing, and evaluating the cultural policies, plans, programs, and projects of the municipality of Cajicá.
The Band is part of the music education process at the School of Bands, which has more than 35 years of artistic experience. This has allowed it to establish itself as one of the most emblematic and representative groups in the country. Its main objective is to diversify and democratize access to culture for the municipality's residents through artistic and educational projects that provide students with opportunities for training, musical creation, and performance.
Among its notable achievements are numerous first-place awards in the National and Departmental Band Competitions in Colombia, as well as musical tours in France, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Pilar Jimenez is originally from Bogota, Colombia. She started playing music at the age of 7 at the Casa de la Cultura in the municipality of Chía, Colombia, where she was a member of the children's choir. Later he became interested in the flute and was part of the Symphonic Band of Chia. After spending her undergraduate studies at the University of the Andes, Colombia as a flutist and choral conductor, she returned to the Casa de la Cultura as a teacher at the School of Artistic Training in the area of flute, until 2017, when she decided to come to do her master's degree in flute at the University of Montreal.
Advocate of culture and music as a factor of change and social cohesion, she has participated in social restructuring projects such as the School Project of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota, Colombia in the area of choir, has collaborated in the development of musical projects with ICBF agencies using music as an entity of equality, development and training in values for a healthier society. She was Assistant Conductor and member of the Choir of the Universidad de los Andes, Alumni Choir and Vocal Exploration Ensemble of the same and is also a specialist in Business Management, services and music products of the Universidad EAN.
In Montreal, she has been a music teacher in the area of Choir and Flute at the École des jeunes de la UdeM and other art schools, served as director of the Rendez-vous des aînés Choir, was coordinator of the artistic area and co-director of the Legados Institute and is currently director of the Listening Choir, a project of the Listening Acts Laboratory of Concordia University and director of Jeunes musiciens du monde de Laval. She is also the organizer and director of the Canada-Colombia Cultural and Musical Exchange 2023.
