SEYO - Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra

…a musical sensation… and a remarkable testament to the success of the El Sistema philosophy
Today’s Zaman, Istanbul, August 2014

SEYO, The Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra

Uniting hundreds of talented young musicians and teachers from Sistema Europe’s diverse network of programmes, SEYO is a European orchestra infused with the spirit of Venezuela’s famed musical, social action initiative, El Sistema.

SEYO Summer Camps

Summer camps take place annually. SEYO's first summer camp took place at multiple locations in Austria (in Vienna, Grafenegg and at the Salzburg Festival) in 2013 and SEYO's first public performance followed a year later in Istanbul. Since then, additional SEYO concerts and summer camps have taken place in Milan, Gothenburg and Athens. You can find out more about all of SEYO's past camps in our Project Archive.

In August 2018, SEYO formed again in England, this time with a residency in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and culminating concerts in both Birmingham's Symphony Hall and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. To read more about this camp, take a look at our press release, where an overview of the camp is provided, with details of the concerts, the musical programme and the key personalities involved.

What makes SEYO's summer camps stand out?

SEYO training sessions and performances are typified by high octane engagement with traditional baroque, classical, romantic and modern symphonic repertoires. Characterised by the joyous celebrations of its young musicians, SEYO performances combine classical music with folk tunes from various European and Latin American regions while also integrating cutting edge initiatives, such as Björk-visualiser Stephen Malinowski’s interactive music animations.

SEYO is part of the Sistema Europe network and was co-founded by Etienne Abelin (Former Member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra & Co-founder of Superar Suisse) and Bruno Campo (Founder of Sistema Guatemala & the Superar Vienna Orchestra), with the help of Juan-Carlos Maggiorani (Musical Director, Orchestra Geraçao, Portugal), in 2013. SEYO's musical co-directors are appointed on a year‐by‐year basis.

SEYO makes use of pioneering and innovative approaches to musical training based upon Sistema Europe's seven dimensions teaching framework, which incorporates the spirit of listening & chamber music, expressive storytelling, an atmosphere of love in sound, the energy of drive & dance, a focus on ease‐in‐playing and an awareness of the ethos of dynamic balance. You can read more about this approach in the working document on these seven dimensions by clicking here. 

Photos from diverse past SEYOs

Images c/o the respective host Sistemas, Angel Ballesteros (Athens), Marco Caselli Nirmal (Milan) & Ivan Gonzalez (England)

Support

Sistema Europe and The Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra would like to thank the foundations, corporate supporters and individuals, without whom the network’s activities would not be possible. In particular we would like to thank:

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