87 musicians, accompanied by their respective instruments - clarinets, bassoons, flutes, trombones, violas, violins, among others - are rehearsing in the large auditorium of the Casa das Artes in Vila Nova de Famalicão. For five days, the musicians, who are trained or live in Famalicão, will come together to learn and prepare two works by composers Béla Bartók and Dmitri Shostakovitch. The meetings, directed by conductor José Eduardo Gomes, began this Monday and will culminate in concerts scheduled for this Friday and Saturday.
In fact, this is the sixth year that Famalicão has combined a symphony orchestra - made up of young people between the ages of 16 and 30 - in an artistic residency and presented the Famalicão community with classical music shows.
Eduardo Machado, 25, has been part of the Famalicão Youth Orchestra since the first edition of the initiative. The percussionist decides to come back year after year because ‘during the training, you play a repertoire from a large orchestra’. What's more, ‘we have the opportunity to play in positions that we wouldn't normally have in an orchestra’, which gives us ‘experience before entering the labour market and joining a professional orchestra’, he said.
And while for some the internship and rehearsals are nothing new, for others, like Catarina Duarte, 26, this is the first year they've been part of this project. For the concertina player - the orchestra's first violinist - this is where ‘various musicians from Famalicense come together’, ‘very important’ compositions are played and ‘classical music is promoted to the community’. ‘That's why this is a very important initiative: we evolve, we progress and we're all together.’
In the internship, promoted by the municipality, the instrumentalists see their artistic skills tested and honed. At the end, the young orchestra takes to the stage of the Casa das Artes to present their work. On Friday 13th, the show starts at 9.30pm, and on Saturday 14th, the concert starts at 6pm at the Casa das Artes.
‘What we do in this period is a reflection of what real life is like out there,’ explained conductor José Eduardo Gomes. The instrumentalists ‘are treated like professionals, they play, train and prepare for the future,’ he added. And while the artistic residency provides new experiences for the young musicians, it also allows locals to appreciate ‘a symphonic repertoire that they don't normally come into contact with’.
