The Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra is back!

June 15th 2004

JMI has officially announced the creation of a new Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra (JMWO), based on a brand new concept that aims to position the JM World Orchestra as the international orchestra of the 21st century.

Valencia, Spain, will become the new home of the JM World Orchestra after its 15-year residence in Berlin, Germany. The orchestra will be supported by the region of Valencia and other contributors, and will benefit as from 2006 from a modern concert hall still under construction, designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava.

In charge of the new management structure are Executive Director Juan José Herrera de la Muela, a Spanish cultural manager and career diplomat, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Josep Vicent (photo), a young percussionist and conductor who has worked with major orchestras in Spain and the Netherlands, and who was himself a member of the JMWO in 1992-93.

With its new artistic concept the Orchestra aims to become a worldwide reference for music and art of the 20th and 21st centuries, and promote a fresh approach to the global classical repertoire. Exploration and innovation are the two key words that will guide the musical choices of the orchestra, focusing on classical contemporary music of the last century and encouraging interactions between symphonic orchestra and ethnic, jazz and contemporary non-classical music. The project will also study the “orchestra as a scenic space”, developing stage elements and using new technologies for the performances, all part of its concern to make major contemporary works more accessible to a wider circle of listeners and to help create new and younger audiences.

The first edition of JM World Orchestra is set for July 2005, with a debut performance in Valencia on 14th July at the Palau de la Música, followed by a tour in Spain and possibly in neighboring Mediterranean countries. Auditions will be announced in September 2004, targeting young talented musicians all over the world between 18 and 26 years old.

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