Let’s Get Started!

About us?

The Humboldt Orchestra (OH) is part of the EURO-VENEZUELAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF MUSICAL AND PERFORMING ARTS (EUVEM). The foundation and institutionalization of this new group is the logical and consistent step of a successful artistic collaboration between different orchestras of the NATIONAL SYSTEM OF YOUTH AND CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA AND CHOIRS OF VENEZUELA (EL SISTEMA) and the distinguished artist Michael Form.

The project stems from the initiative of the German flutist and director and double bass player Jonathan Álvarez Cermeño, a Venezuelan musician with a notable presence in the musical life of Spain.

The Music Director

Michael Form was born in Mainz, Germany, in 1967. Due to his double profile as flutist and orchestra and opera director, he has become one of the most versatile musicians of his generation with a repertoire that encompasses some 600 years of music history, from the polyphony of the late Middle Ages to the music of today. His debut as an opera director in 2004 with Jean Philippe Rameu's Les Indes Galantes in Lausanne (Switzerland) marked his first success which would lead to a multitude of invitations.

Since then he has conducted no fewer than 160 opera performances in both Europe and America. Between 2006 and 2011 he was music director of the "Winter in Schwetzingen" festival. Likewise, in 2007, Michael Form directed the American premiere of Motezuma, a Vivaldi opera discovered in 2002, at the Mexico City Theater. In 2012, he premiered with Alessando sw Georg Friedrich Händel at the 35th edition of the "International Händel-Festspiele" in Karlsruhe (Germany). In 2013, he conducted for the first time at the prestigious Frankfurt Opera Emilio de' Cavalieri's Rappresentatione de Anima, et di Corpo, together with a world premiere of Fulgur harmoniae by Austrian composer Klaus Lang.

Co-founder
Jonathan O. Álvarez, born in Los Teques, Venezuela. He began his internship at "El Sistema", under the tutelage of Prof. Félix Petit at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music and the School of Double Basses of Venezuela, in addition, he received master classes from Klaus Stoll, Janne Saksalas, Nabil Shehata or Edicson Ruiz de the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.He was a member and guest of the highest level symphony orchestras in his country from an early age, playing under the direction of José Antonio Abreu, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel or Rafael Payare, among others. others, and touring concert halls from Norway to China.He obtained positions as permanent double bass in the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Caracas (2012) and principal double bass in the Simón Bolívar Baroque Orchestra(2014) getting involved in early music with original instruments, also receiving master classes by Michael Form, and was awarded a scholarship to the Academy of Early Music, Brunico (2016), receiving master classes and sharing the stage with R Iccardo Coelati, Roberta Invernizzi or Midori Seiler.

Currently based in Madrid, he won first place at the Navarra Symphony Orchestra (2017) and has recently worked as a freelancer with the Orquesta il Pomo d'Oro (Switzerland), the Orquesta Divino Sospiro (Portugal) and symphonic ensembles throughout Spain, going through the repertoire of ancient music to modern. He is also co-founder of emerging groups such as the Cantabrian Symphony (2018), the Humboldt Orchestra (2019) together with Michael Form and the Cruz-Diez Orchestra (2019), and has shared the stage with artists such as Péter Eötvös, Viktoria Mullova, Paquito d'Rivera, Alexis Cárdenas, Lucero Tena, Anna Fedorova or Joyce DiDonato, Philippe Jaroussky, Franco Fagioli, Lisette Oropesa or Jakub Józef Orliński. In addition, he collaborates with non-profit organizations such as "El Sistema"-inspired programs and youth symphony orchestras, and was awarded UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador recognition during his activities in Venezuela.

Our name

Alexander von Humboldt, born in Berlin in 1769, is one of the great exponents of the link between two worlds. His enthusiasm for nature and his explorations took him outside of his native country, with Venezuela being one of the most researched regions during his travels and where he became an emblematic figure in both scientific and international circles. cultural.

The OH is a group made up of between 15 and 60 instrumentalists, according to the required program, dedicated to the interpretation of a wide symphonic repertoire that ranges from the baroque to current music, with an emphasis on the classical style around the year 1800. Historically informed practice or performance is an integral part of his work for any style.

What will we allocate your contributions to

First of all, to cover the living expenses of each of the musicians who are part of this project, since music is our way of life and profession.

Secondly, to cover the costs of audio and video production of the concert, during rehearsals and concerts for future promotional material of the orchestra.

Planned schedule

The Let's Get Started! project will be our first public appearance after the pandemic. Together with the City Council of Torrelodones, Madrid, we have scheduled a concert on November 25 in the auditorium of that city, with a day of daily rehearsals every previous day of the week.

The program to be interpreted and documented covers 400 years of music history and some 8,500 km of distance in a straight line from Germany, with J.S. Bach, to Venezuela, with Aldemaro Romero, similar to von Humboldt's expeditions, and two world premieres composed for this occasion.

☆☆☆ Our patrons will be able to choose one of the most recent recordings made by our musical director: Michael Form, under the Panclassics label and awarded by specialized critics: ☆☆☆

The rewards to our patrons will be sent once the registered material leaves post-production in the first quarter of 2023.

+ info

www.orquestahumboldt.es
www.michaelform.com
www.jonathan-alvarez.com