THE ORCHESTRA OF THE AMERICAS
EXCEL.
TRANSFORM.
The Orchestra of the Americas is a pan-American symphony of top musicians, ages 18 to 30, representing 25+ countries in the Western Hemisphere. The orchestra's mission is to empower rising musical leaders across the Americas and beyond to fulfill their potential as integrated and impactful human beings. With more than 5,000 musicians entering the orchestra's audition cycle, the 80-member ensemble ranks among the most competitive music institutions in the world.
The Orchestra performs on the world's most iconic stages including the Oriental Arts Centre – Shanghai, Saint Peter's Basilica – Vatican, Symphony Center – Chicago, Teatro Teresa Carreño – Caracas, Teatro Colón – Buenos Aires, Sala Sao Paulo, The ElbPhilharmonie – Hamburg, The Kennedy Center – Washington DC, The European Centre for Music – Luslawice, Teatro Municipal – Santiago, The Rheingau Festival – Wiesbaden, Palais Montcalm – Québec, The Edinburgh International Festival, Teatro SODRE – Montevideo, Bellas Artes – Mexico City, Teatro Nacional – Costa Rica, Koerner Hall – Toronto, and Carnegie Hall – New York, to name a few—in addition to pioneering shows in creative settings from Jamaica to Belize, from Guatemala to Ukraine, from rural Canada to Western China to Patagonia. The orchestra brings renowned artists from Yo-Yo Ma to Valery Gergiev, from Plácido Domingo to Philip Glass, into the lives of musicians and audiences in the most diverse settings imaginable.
The impact of The Orchestra of the Americas stretches far and wide. It has reached tens of millions of people through live performances, television and radio broadcasts, recordings, print media, and documentary films. Participants return home to share knowledge with their communities, and win jobs in the most prestigious institutions around the world. The orchestra acts as model and gateway for countless national and regional music initiatives worldwide.
Winner, XVI Latin Grammy Awards, Best Classical Album
Winner, League of American Symphony Orchestras, Golden Baton
The Orchestra of the Americas is part of The Orchestra of the Americas Group (www.theoagroup.org), a multi-brand enterprise that also includes The Global Leaders Program (www.globalleadersprogram.com), OAcademy (www.oacademy.live), Gabriela Montero Piano Lab (www.gabriela.live), Music In Action Journal (www.musicinaction.org), Líderes Emprendedores Incubator, SoundPost Podcast, and a range of other initiatives.
The Orchestra of the Americas was launched by Venezuela's VISIÓN Foundation in partnership with The New England Conservatory. It's founding was inspired by the pioneering work of figures including Jorge Peña Hen (Chile), Ana Milena Muñoz Gómez (Colombia), Oscar Arias (Costa Rica), José Antonio Abreu (Venezuela), and others to give the platform of the symphony orchestra renewed purpose at the epicenter of social transformation in disadvantaged communities across the Americas. The Founding Board was established by chairman Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg, vice-chairman Mark Churchill, and vice-chairman José Antonio Abreu, in partnership with The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, the Organization of American States, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Founding artistic partners included Yo-Yo Ma, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Plácido Domingo, Gustavo Dudamel, and Benjamin Zander, among others.
Since its inaugural tour, The Orchestra of the Americas has performed more than 400 concerts for audiences in 35+ countries throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Three feature-length documentary films are dedicated to the Orchestra, which has also released a number of critically acclaimed commercial recordings with Plácido Domingo, Gabriela Montero, Philip Glass, and others, earning the orchestra a Latin Grammy Award in 2015.