MUSIC FOR SUCCESS!
Music for Success! Is an educational program of the Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. that encourages and supports artistic creativity in children by fostering an appreciation and understanding of the art of music making.


MUSIC FOR SUCCESS! by Juan R. Ramírez


Music for Success! Is an educational program of the Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. in partnership with metro Atlanta public schools. The program encourages and supports artistic creativity by fostering an appreciation and understanding of instrumental music. Young elementary and middle school children of many backgrounds will receive instrumental and orchestral string training from professional musicians, thereby enhancing and building upon the training presently offered in their individual schools. All children deserve an education in the arts, one that enables them to create, perform and communicate their human expressions. Music study makes a positive contribution to children’s academic achievement, confidence, analytical ability, interpersonal skills and creative potential. Music, as a universal non-verbal language, has the ability to cross all boundaries, whether imposed by economic condition, ethnic or social background or disability. Teaching music to young children ensures the preservation of an important cultural legacy in our community. Music makes an important difference, affecting children’s lives and the quality of their future involvement in society.

Today’s economic climate and budgetary constraints present the opportunity of finding ways to work toward a concerted and consistent effort in achieving the important goal of music education for every child. Today, many music programs in our public schools have been cut, and many more are in jeopardy nationwide. The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation believes that music deserves the same attention and cultivation as language, reading, mathematics and science, for the reason and understanding that all children are born with creative imaginations and artistic curiosity.

The role of the arts now has become more central than ever; preserving and celebrating our democratic way of life. Americans turn to the arts to express the full range of emotions. In song and speech, picture and verse, the average citizen is ever mindful of the importance and power of the arts.

Many scientific studies reveal that there is a connection between learning in the arts and cognitive and language development. The National Association for Music Education assures us that arts learning activities prepare children and all students for careers whether in the arts or elsewhere. Musical talent can be nurtured in young artists of the future, and non-artists will apply skills acquired through arts education, such as self-critical analysis, decision making, problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills. Music education prepares youth not only for life, but for a life enriched by the arts.

¡La música para triunfar!

por Juan R. Ramírez, Director Artístico y Conductor

Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc.

 La música para triunfar! Es un programa educativo creado por la fundación Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. y vinculado a las escuelas públicas del área metropolitana de Atlanta. El programa tiene como objetivo estimular y apoyar la creatividad artística promoviendo la apreciación y el aprendizaje de la música instrumental. Niños y jóvenes de la escuela primaria y secundaria reciben entrenamiento de músicos profesionales que se especializan en orquesta de cuerdas, con el propósito de enriquecer y añadir conocimiento al entrenamiento que se ofrece en la actualidad en las escuelas de la comunidad.

Todos los niños merecen una educación en las artes que los capacite a crear, actuar y a comunicar sus sentimientos. El estudio de la música hace una positiva contribución al logro académico, a la confianza, a la capacidad analítica, a la intercomunicación y al potencial creativo. La música, como lengua universal, no verbal, tiene la habilidad de cruzar todas las fronteras aunque éstas sean impuestas por situaciones económicas, formación étnica o incapacidad. La enseñanza de la música a niños y a jóvenes asegura la preservación del significante legado cultural de nuestra comunidad. La música hace una gran diferencia que afecta la vida y la calidad del compromiso que tengan niños y jóvenes en la sociedad en el futuro.

La situación económica y restricciones de presupuestos de hoy nos presentan oportunidades y retos para encontrar otros medios que nos faciliten lograr la meta de proveer la enseñanza de la música a cada niño.

Hoy día se han eliminado y cortado muchos programas de música, aún hay muchos en peligro al nivel nacional. La Fundación del Atlanta Virtuosi cree firmemente que la música merita la misma atención que el estudio de la lengua, de la lectura, de las matemáticas y de las ciencias por la simple razón y conocimiento ya establecido que; Todos los niños nacen con una imaginación creativa y con una curiosidad artística.


Muchos estudios científicos revelan que hay una conexión entre el aprendizaje de las artes y el desarrollo cognitivo del lenguaje. La Asociación Nacional de la Enseñanza de la Música nos asegura que las actividades en las artes preparan a los niños y a todos los estudiantes para carreras tanto en el escenario artístico como en otros campos. El talento musical se puede cultivar desde una temprana edad en los artistas del futuro. Los otros estudiantes aplicarán las habilidades aprendidas en la enseñanza de la música, como por ejemplo, el auto análisis crítico, tomando mejores decisiones, resolviendo problemas, sabiendo trabajar en equipo, y comunicándose bien.

En resumen la enseñanza de la música también produce mejores seres humanos, ciudadanos sensibles a nuestra comunidad multicultural, dispuestos y capacitados para hacer una valiosa contribución a la sociedad en el futuro.

The mission of the Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc.

To make available a whole musical education that presents opportunities for professional musicians and young music students to participate in orchestral instrumental arts and to create an environment that is nurturing and stimulating through an artistically literate education.

NOSTALGIA LATINA

Pre-concert Talk: “The Evolution of Latin American Popular Music and Dance”
Traditional and Romantic Songs of Latin America: Songs of Agustín Lara; Rafael Hernández, María Grever, Carlos Gardel; Astor Piazzolla; Carmelina Delfín; Ernesto and Ernestina Lecuona.

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Our continued objective is to provide more in-depth traditional, classical and cultural music experiences for our diverse metro Atlanta area.  This enriched music performance organization is designed to meet the increased demand for a professionally supervised youth orchestra which provides a variety of opportunities for growing numbers of students and creates an environment for young musicians to enhance their technical skills in musical strings instrumental instruction.

RAMIREZ “SUITE CRIOLLA” a Folk Mass

Pre-concert Talk: “New Musical Forms Introduced in the Catholic Mass”
For Tenor, Chorus, Orchestra, Latin American Percussion and Narrator.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS​

CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERTS

The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in November 1977 under Georgia code 501 (c) (3) as a non-profit organization. The foundation has adopted and organized goals exclusively for educational, cultural and civic purposes. Since its inception, the foundation has received continuous support from both public and private sources including the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Georgia Council for the Arts, DeKalb Council for the Arts, Bell South, the Coca-Cola Foundation, the William C. Wardlaw Foundation, the John and Mary Franklin Foundation, Inc, Paul Newman Foundation, the Buckhead Coalition and numerous individuals gifts.

The performing arm of the foundation is the Atlanta Virtuosi, which has distinguished itself as a chamber ensemble of the highest caliber in the United States and abroad. Hailed by the late Henryk Szeryng as being “among the finest chamber groups of today, the Atlanta Virtuosi possess an enviable level of instrumental command and artistic integrity.” Noted for the diversity of its programs, the Atlanta Virtuosi perform a wide variety of both traditional and contemporary compositions, and have featured such world-class artists as Joseph Silverstein, Milan Turković, Frank Glazer, Janos Starker, Pepe Romero and Henryk Szeryng. The Virtuosi has been the recipient of two consecutive consortium awards from the National Endowment for the Arts for the commissioning and world premiere performances of new chamber works by internationally renowned composers Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, Elliot Schwartz, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Leonardo Balada, Werner Torkanowsky, Armando Lavalle and Juan R. Ramírez.


International Concert Tours

1985 Tour to Mexico - concerts in Puebla, Mexico City and National University of Mexico.
1986 First European Concert Tour to Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
1988 European Concert Tour to Spain and Italy.
1990 Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato chamber music concerts and homage to Mexican composer Francisco Gabilondo Soler “Cri Cri” El Grillito Cantor.
1992 FESTIVAL HISPANO at the University of Mexico in Madero/Tampico, Tamaulipas
2004 Third European Concert Tour at the invitation of Prince Albert of the Principality of Monaco. Concerts in Collonges-sous-Salève, France and the principality of Monaco and Monte Carlo.
2005 Concert Tour to Mexico. Concerts in Tlaxcala, Puebla and Tehuacán.
2008 Concerts in Pánuco, Veracruz in the 08EXPO National Festival of the Huapango. This presentation was made possible by an invitation from the Governor of the State of Veracruz, Mr. Fidel Herrera Beltrán.
2008 European Concert Tour.

June, 2008, the Atlanta Virtuosi presents concerts entitled “MUSIC OF THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS” in Barcelona and the Costa Brava International Music Festival

2015 Concert tour to Madero, Tamaulipas Mexico to honor Juan R. Ramírez by the city government for his musical and entrepreneur contributions worldwide representing its native birth city of Madero.
2016 Concert tour in Mexico with residency in Querétaro, Querétaro, concerts in Jalpan and the city of Queretaro.

The Atlanta Virtuosi has received critical acclaim for its extended tours of Mexico and its first European tour to Austria, Germany and Switzerland in 1986. In March of 1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi returned for their second European tour, playing to capacity audiences in the cultural centers of Spain and Italy. In 1986, 1987 and 1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi established a summer chamber music residency at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. In 1990, the Atlanta Virtuosi founded the popular Hispanic Festival for the Arts/Festival Latino in Atlanta and Mexico. These annual festivals were established to celebrate the rich cultural and artistic contributions of the Latino American heritage.

In 2008 at the invitation of the Governor of the State of Veracruz, the Atlanta Virtuosi returned from Mexico after a successful performance at the annual National Festival “Expo Feria, Huapango Pánuco 2008, in the State of Veracruz, performing Mr. Ramirez’ composition “Suite Huasteca”. This performance was promoted and televised nationally throughout Mexico.

In June of 2008, the Atlanta Virtuosi presented concerts entitled “MUSIC OF THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS” in Barcelona and Calella at the Costa Brava International Music Festival.

In 1993, the Atlanta Virtuosi was selected as winner of the “Regional Designation Award in the Arts” by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) Cultural Olympiad. The award was developed to honor excellence and innovation in artistic and cultural programs throughout the Southeast. 


​SCHOLARSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG MUSIC STUDENTS
Scholarship programs include the Parvaneh Mehdian Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Suzanne Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Regional Young Artists Concerto Competition, and educational children concert activities to a population of children who do not have access to the arts.


DONATION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 
ORCHESTRAL STUDIES AT THE ATLANTA VIRTUOSI INSTITUTE OF MUSIC

ORCHESTRAL STUDIES, CHAMBER MUSIC, VIOLIN CHOIR, VIOLA CHOIR, CELLO CHOIR AND STRING ORCHESTRA FOR INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED STUDENTS & PRIVATE MUSIC INSTRUCTION.

 Our aim is to extend the range of repertoire for each instrument and ensemble, and to broaden and develop the technical and musical ability of each participant. The syllabus of the string program requires of each student to develop as a performer, through scales, technical exercises and selected musical repertoire, enhancing their understanding of successful performance. Studies will include:

  • Orchestral performance techniques from the standard orchestral repertoire
  • Orchestral bowing techniques and fingerings
  • Audition preparation for Youth Symphony Orchestras, All-State, GHP and University & Conservatory study.
  • Audition performance strategy
  • Audition skills through mock auditions
  • Performance and recital experience



ORCHESTRAL STUDIES SERIES for Violin, Viola & Cello
by Juan R. Ramírez Hernández
Volume I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII & IX



Table of Contents

  • Bowing Techniques (Strokes, Distribution, Speed) & Guide to Symbols.
  • Shifting & Shifting Patterns
  • Intonation & Ear Training: Scales and Interval Relationships
  • Intonation Exercises
  • Double Stops & Basic Double Stop Positions Chart
  • Fingering
  • Dynamics
  • Tempi & Pulsation
  • Sound Production
  • Expression: Character and Style
  • Rhythm
  • Articulation
  • Vibrato
  • Ensemble Playing: Chamber Music & Orchestral
  • Sight Reading Techniques
  • Other String Techniques
  • Orchestral Repertoire & Excerpts
  • Audition Evaluation Chart


​

“RITMO LATINO”

Pre-concert Talk: “Classical and Folk Dances from the Mexican Huasteca”
RAMIREZ: SUITE LATINA, SUITE HUASTECA
“MEXICO PREHISPANICO” Pre-concert Talk: “The Music and Poetry of the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan”

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FESTIVAL LATINO/LATIN FESTIVAL

The Festival Latino” “Latin Festival” formerly Hispanic Festival of Music and the Arts, made its premiere performance at Emory University in 1990 and continued at Agnes Scott College, Georgia Tech and Reinhardt University.  This year the Festival will take place in metropolitan City of Atlanta. Founded in 1990, the Festival celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the Latin America population through musical performances, lectures and art exhibitions. 

THE BUCKHEAD YOUTH ORCHESTRA

The Buckhead Youth Orchestra, was founded in the year 2000 as an educational program under the auspices of the Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc., and has been endorsed by the Buckhead Coalition, by former president, Sam Massell and past Major of the City of Atlanta, Georgia.

 This educational program provides an orchestral education and performance experience of pre-college and pre-professional caliber to talented young musicians selected by audition from the metro area of Atlanta and outlying areas of Atlanta.  The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. conducts this program with a structure that closely follows the operation of a professional symphony, and is dedicated to providing and maintaining the highest standard of orchestral string training. This orchestral program is a comprehensive musical curriculum, designed to provide an in-depth traditional, classical, and cultural music experience. Intensive preparation for public performance, development of basic technical skills, and professional coaching sessions are enhanced by local and regional concerto competitions, summer festivals, student scholarships and international concert touring.


The Buckhead Youth Orchestra holds a series of concerts throughout the Atlanta area with the purpose of sharing a wide variety music with a very diverse audience. We seek alliance with other arts organizations and initiate proposals for collaborative concerts and projects. Among them are: The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, the Falany Performing Arts Center at Reinhardt College, the Atlanta Symphony Associates Decorator’s Show House, the Buckhead Business Association, the Starbright Children’s Foundation, CURE Childhood Foundation, the Consumer’s Choice Awards for Business Excellence, the Northwest Presbyterian Church, the Latin American Association and the Huthmaker Violins in Sewanee, Georgia.

The Buckhead Youth Orchestra members and alumni have the opportunity to travel internationally. Past concert tours include performances in 2004 at Collonges-sous-Salève, France; the Principality of Monaco at the invitation of Prince Albert of Monaco; 2005 tour to Mexico performing in Puebla, Tehuacán and Tlaxcala. The Buckhead Youth Orchestra joined the Atlanta Virtuosi faculty in its tour to Spain, with performances at the Costa Brava International Music Festival in Cataluña and in the city of Barcelona.

​CELEBRATING “El Día del Niño” Childrens’ Day

This event is a multi-disciplined performance including music, song, story-telling, poetry and art displayed by middle school students in conjunction with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra through the ASO/Community Outreach Program, Casa de la Cultura-Atlanta and Summerour Middle School in Norcross, Georgia.

 Since 1925, “El Día del Niño” is celebrated each year on April 30th as a tribute to children in Mexico. Schools host special events, inviting parents to celebrate and share Children’s Day with students. “Fiestas” are held and children take part in activities such as story-telling, art displays, songs, dance and music. Children are recognized as an important part of our world society, so the event focuses on the importance of loving, accepting, and appreciating children.

In short, Summerour’s “El Día del Niño” celebrates the diversity of young children who are learning to become leaders and become stewards of the natural world, champions of their heritage, and designers of their own lives and futures.  Students from different ethnicities and countries around the world will share their talents and passion in a way they hope will inspire positive change in their local community. This event will remind their audiences that this young cast is the face of the future, and that we will do well to listen carefully, nurture and support them for their hopes and dreams that will weave the fabric of this community in the years to come.

It is envisioned as a rich and exciting experience that will encourage our audience to set aside pre-conceived notions about children of different backgrounds and social experience, and instead focuses on what they have to express.

Through music and art, students will help us to see the connections that inspire them.

“All children deserve an education in the arts, one that enables them to create, perform, and communicate their human expressions.  All children are born with creative imaginations and artistic curiosity.” Juan R. Ramírez Hernández

“Todos los niños nacen con una imaginación creativa y con una curiosidad artística. La enseñanza de la música a niños y jóvenes asegura la preservación del notable legado cultural de nuestras comunidades y tiene un impacto positivo en la calidad de la vida y el compromiso que los niños y jóvenes tendrán en la sociedad”. Juan R. Ramírez Hernández



Programs

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RAMIREZ: ANAHUAC*, CALMECAC** 

A tone Poem for Tenor, Soprano, Chorus, Orchestra and Aztec Percussion Instruments.
*The Aztec word for this continent. This composition was world premiered and commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad that accompanied the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta as part of “ MEXICO A Cultural Tapestry”.
**Aztec Noblemen sent their sons to the Calmecac School to become priests, magistrates and warriors. The young men learned to read sacred books, perform Aztec ceremonies, and carry out civil and military functions with exactness.  

Music for success !

​EDUCATIONAL CONCERT SERIES FOR CHILDREN ENTITLED

“From Cri-Cri to Mozart”

This series of educational concerts is geared toward children with limited economic resources.  All concerts are offered to children with an emphasis on Latino, Vietnamese, African American and other minority constituencies, and are of great importance to those ethnicities in desperate need of cultural integration. This program, entitled “From Cri-Cri” to Mozart, celebrates the music of Mexican composer Francisco Gabilondo Soler, who, like Burl Ives, devoted all his life to writing music and stories for children. The format of mixed-media introduces singing, music and narration. The instrumental arrangements and stories have been adapted, edited and arranged by Juan Ramirez. He creatively links the songs and stories, using the music of such great masters as Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Villa-Lobos, Ramírez Hernández and many other Latin American composers. The use of animal effects and percussion instruments offer an important and colorful canvas for the descriptive scores and stories.