SEATTLE — A Seattle-based nonprofit hopes to help young musicians learn and grow by offering free classes with access to instruments, playing music by Latinx composers and hosting events to foster intercultural understanding.
Orquesta Northwest, which hosts programs including Youth Strings Outreach, Cascade Conducting and the Ballard Civic Orchestra, began in 2019, growing out of and building on existing programs. In 2022, the power of music to build confidence and connect with the community was clearer than ever, as musicians experienced during a September concert of "El Grito."
"When you grow up as a Latino in the United States I think it's very important that you cultivate what you are," said Paula Madrigal, Orquesta NW Music Director and Conductor. "For a lot of these kids they're half American and half Latinos and if you cultivate only your American roots you are missing half of what you are and if the kids learn about themselves and about the past, about the music, they are gonna grow stronger and it's very important they feel confident about their families."
Arya Hino, a 10th grader at Lincoln High School, is one of those students.
"I play music because I think it will give me better opportunities later on and my mom plays violin," Hino said. "When I started playing it, I felt better inside. I feel a connection to it but when I play the music there’s a fuzzy feeling like, yes, I’m part of this culture."
Hino and Luca Sisk played alongside professional musicians in "El Grito."
"It means everything to me," Sisk said. "I dance, I play. Everything to do with music. I think (this concert) is really relevant. It's to help people see and understand and everyone to enjoy each other's culture."
Daniel Gomez was in attendance with his daughter Regina.
"We moved here from Mexico, from the North part of Mexico, and I think it is really important to keep the culture alive and also instill the culture into the younger generations," Gomez said. "(This concert and "El Grito" are) to commemorate the birthday of our country as well as to remind us that we must be a brave people, we need to remember our roots."
Madrigal grew up playing music and later found herself conducting it, a role that transports her each time she interacts with an orchestra and an audience.
"With their energy they give me the power to go out and conduct it and in that moment I feel free," Madrigal said. "I feel like myself. I feel like flying. I’m connecting with the conductor, with the past, with the present, with the future."
She said performance is really a conversation with the audience. Musicians play, but people hear what they want to hear, and respond with their energy and interaction. With the pieces Orquesta NW ensembles play, there is an educational element for people who are not exposed to well-known composers from Mexico or Latin America. For those who count them as familiar, it's a comfort and inspiration.
"El Grito" was performed to commemorate Mexican Independence Day. It was named for the call-and-response that celebrates Mexican independence and all that's come after it.
"My family, my country, my house when I was a child, my friends, everything that I am, my friends, my university, my teachers, all that comes when I say 'Viva Mexico,'" Madrigal said.