The members of Cuarteto Libertadores, a string quartet from Venezuela’s El Sistema, met the children of In Harmony Telford and Stoke-on-Trent, in a cultural exchange organised by Sistema England.

 

The young musicians, all members of the renowned Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, performed the first movement of Hunt Quartet K458 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Señor Mouse by Chick Corea for children aged 4 to 7 at Old Park Primary. They then met with a group of 8 and 9 year olds that are part of In Harmony.

 

After lunch, the quartet performed the Mozart piece and Skylife by David Balakrishnan, for children aged 8 to 11, incluing about thirty pupils from Heron Cross Primary School in Stoke on Trent. It was the first time the children from the programmes in Telford and Stoke met to rehearse. In the afternoon, the Venezuelans took part in a full strings rehearsal.

 

Julian Lloyd Webber, founder of In Harmony and chair of Sistema England, said: “The Sistema England charity is committed to creating opportunities that will add value to the In Harmony programmes. We are grateful to El Sistema and the Libertadores quartet for sharing their talent and experience with the children of England.”

 

Ian Thomas, director of In Harmony Telford and Stoke-on-Trent, said: “To learn first hand from El Sistema their approach, their repertoire, and the whole way of working with young people, these sorts of echanges are invaluable to our In Harmony programme.”

 

Otto Rodríguez, viola player with the Libertadores quartet, said: “We were favourably impressed by integral way in which knowledge is being shared with the children. In Harmony has great teachers and great resources, and in Telford they are successfully complementing the musical with the social aspect of the programme.”

 

In Harmony Telford and Stoke-on-Trent, led by Telford & Wrekin Music, are part of the national In Harmony scheme funded by the Department for Education and National Lottery through Arts Council England.

 

The Sistema England charity – led by In Harmony founder Julian Lloyd Webber – promotes, fundraises and creates opportunities for the development and expansion of Sistema-inspired programmes, also serving as a liaison between them and El Sistema in Venezuela.