2024 National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras For All
National Seminario Ravinia: Orchestras for All
Fostering students’ growth and learning through music education and performance
July 7–10, 2024, at Ravinia Festival
Following a successful inaugural year in 2023, Ravinia and its Reach Teach Play® programs host the second National Seminario Ravinia, with a culminating performance presented July 10 as part of the 2024 Ravinia Festival season.
Under the leadership of Chief Conductor Marin Alsop, Ravinia will welcome more than 100 students from El Sistema–inspired organizations internationally, including the festival’s own Sistema Ravinia orchestra program. Participating students—selected through a collaborative nomination process—will experience four days of orchestral training and mentorship from members of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F).
During the evening concert on July 10, the Seminario students will perform multiple pieces side-by-side with the NOI+F musicians, led by Alsop and Lead Seminario Conductor Jessica Altarriba, as well as one work on their own with Altarriba conducting.
Marin Alsop
Ravinia Chief ConductorOne of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop represents an inspiring voice for the power of music to change lives. The Chief Conductor of Ravinia and Music Director of NOI+F, she is internationally recognized for innovative programming and audience development, as well as a deep commitment to education. The first woman to head major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria, and Britain, Alsop is also Chief Conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Polish National Radio Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. In 2002 she founded the Taki Concordia (now Taki Alsop) Fellowship to promote and nurture the careers of women conductors. This fall Alsop begins as Principal Guest Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and she continues to appear with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, of whom she was Music Director for 14 and 7 years, respectively
Jessica Altarriba
Lead Seminario ConductorLatin American conductor Jessica Altarriba is known for her charismatic stage presence, dynamic energy, and communicative skills. Recently named a 2024–26 Taki Alsop Award recipient, she is the New Jersey Symphony’s first-ever Colton Conducting Fellow for the 2023–24 season and a Freeman Conducting Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Altarriba is concurrently pursuing her Masters in Conducting at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University under Marin Alsop’s guidance. Born in Cuba, Altarriba is equally vested in established repertoire and contemporary compositions. While completing her bachelor’s degree in conducting at the University of Arts in Havana, she premiered works by Nathalie Hidalgo Reyes and Dania Suarez Piorno. Altarriba served as Music Director of the University of Arts Band and the Eastern Symphony Orchestra in Santiago de Cuba, as well as guest conductor of the Esteban Salas Symphony Orchestra. She has also guested with Spain’s Málaga Camerata and Virtuós Mediterrani, Germany’s Lüneburg Symphoniker, Austria’s Mozarteumorchester Salzburg.
National Orchestral Institute + Festival
Orchestra Partner
“Mentorship and engagement are hallmarks of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. NOI+F fellows—some of the most talented musicians from across the country—are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and perform alongside students from El Sistema–inspired youth orchestras.”
—Richard Scerbo, NOI+F Director
National Orchestral Institute + Festival
Orchestra PartnerThe National Orchestral Institute + Festival’s mission of fostering the growth of young, aspiring orchestral musicians aligns with National Seminario Ravinia’s vision. Each summer, NOI+F brings together musicians on the thresholds of their professional careers for a month of dynamic music-making and professional exploration. Aspiring to develop 21st-century performing artists, NOI+F cultivates musicians who are creating a model for the next generation of orchestras through innovative audience engagement and exhilarating performance. In its 37th year, NOI+F is a truly national festival and has expanded to include innovative partnerships with Pacific Music Institute, Naxos Records, and Wolf Trap Opera.
“Mentorship and engagement are hallmarks of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. NOI+F fellows—some of the most talented musicians from across the country—are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and perform alongside students from El Sistema–inspired youth orchestras.”
—Richard Scerbo, NOI+F Director
In addition to performing side-by-side with the Seminario students, the NOI+F musicians will be featured on their own in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, conducted by Alsop.
A program of the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (The Clarice), NOI+F trains aspiring orchestral musicians, composers, conductors, and arts administrators from across the country, selected through a rigorous, cross-country audition process. In 2019, the NOI+F Philharmonic received a Grammy nomination in the “Best Orchestral Performance” category for their Naxos recording Ruggles, Stucky, Harbison. NOI+F performances boast millions of listeners through broadcasts on Performance Today, WETA, WQXR, and Young Artists Showcase.
About Reach Teach Play
About Reach Teach Play
Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs serve thousands of young people across the Chicago area each year. Reach Teach Play’s many offerings provide underserved children and families with music education and live music performances in their schools, communities, and at Ravinia through a portfolio of high-quality and inclusive programs, including Sistema Ravinia. This transformational orchestral program fosters social development year-round through daily small-ensemble and orchestral training for 3rd–12th-grade students in Chicago and Lake County public schools.
National Seminario Ravinia extends the vision of Reach Teach Play to open doors where everyone can access and experience the positive impact of music and create pathways for continued success. “Bringing this diverse group of kids together from around the country will be such a special experience,” said Christine Taylor Conda, Director of Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs. “We hope that students will see that this movement, El Sistema, is much larger and more connected than just their local ensemble or community, that they will be challenged musically and that they will develop lasting friendships.”
Frequently Asked Questions
While the learning activities and events are open only to participating students and their home music organizations, tickets to attend the final culminating performance on July 10 will be available to the general public.
Please order tickets in advance starting April 24 to support these students in concert. Donors to Ravinia get early access to tickets as early as March 19. More info.
For updates on the upcoming season, subscribe to our mailing list.
National Seminario Ravinia is open to students from El Sistema–inspired organizations. Organizations can reach out to [email protected] for more information on enrollment for National Seminario Ravinia 2024.
National Seminario Ravinia Presenting Sponsor:
National Seminario Ravinia Program Partners:
National Orchestral Institute + Festival
El Sistema USA
Participating Organizations:
Austin Soundwaves
Boston String Academy
BSO OrchKids
CAMP (Chicago Arts and Music Project)
ChiMOP (Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project)
Dream Orchestra
East River Children and Youth Orchestra
El Sistema Austin
El Sistema Colorado
El Sistema Greece
El Sistema Lehigh Valley
El Sistema Oklahoma
El Sistema Santa Cruz
El Sistema Texas
Empire State Youth Orchestra CHIME Program
Harmony Program
Harmony School of Music
Intempo
Juventud Sinfónica Tamaulipeca
Kalamazoo Kids In Tune
Kidznotes
Miami Arts Studio 6-12@Zelda Glazer
New Brunswick Youth Orchestra
Paterson Music Project
Play on Philly
Project Music
ROC Music
Sistema Ravinia
Sistema Tulsa
Sistema Utah
Soundscapes
Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra
Sunstate Orchestral Program
The People’s Music School
The Raleigh Music Collective
Tocando-El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Tuned In-Peabody Institute
United Children Music Project
Upbeat NYC
YOU-El Sistema Orlando
YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)
