New Musical Opportunities for the Youth of Costa Rica

The Instituto Nacional de Música (IMN – National Institute of Music) is working on a new project to bring musical education to children Living in Costa Rica with special needs. The project, Música con Accesibilidad para Todos (Music with Accessibility for All), was organized  with the advisory help of the Programa de Orquestas Infantiles y Juveniles de Venezuela (Children and Adolescents Orchestra Programme of Venezuela).

The music programme has been made possible by the contributions of a number of teachers, financial aid for the construction of more classrooms and the donation of musical instruments. Instruments were sent from as far as Japan and will go directly to the young students. This generosity will enable the IMN to accommodate more young talent in the very near future. Children will be able to learn and enjoy lessons in new musical schools that will be installed across Costa Rica.

There are currently 25 workshops in progress, with students of different abilities and composition interests. They are forming quartets and quintets, and even some larger groups of small bands and symphony orchestras. The groups are being directed by teachers with experience in symphony music, in such a way that they are able to receive varied interpretation lessons of different historical periods and composers. The vision is to allow children to further develop their musical capabilities and responses.

The IMN is working on a renovation of their programmes to update them to meet modern standards and aspirations and the needs of the Costa Rican population. For example, they have signed an agreement with the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (State University of Long-Distance Learning), to allow students who complete the programme at an advanced level to receive a Bachelor’s Degree, granted by that university.

Their goal is to be able to reach out to more young girls, boys and adolescents and teach them how to play an instrument and interpret different forms of music. With respect to this, they will be introducing a pilot programme to mirror that of the Venezuelan project, which is currently providing opportunities to the youth of Venezuela with visual impairment and Down’s syndrome. Musical education empowers students through personal successes in the challenging arena of music performance and composition.

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Filed under: Costa Rican Music on October 29th, 2008