From July 27 to August 10, 2008, violinists Jennifer Curtis and Geeta Abad, violists Amelia Hollander and Margaret Dyer, bassist Andrew Roitstein, oboist Ryan Walsh, hornist Catherine Eisele, trumpeter Ben Grow, percussionist Steve Solook, and conductor William Harvey traveled to Mexico, where they worked over two hundred fifty musicians from the Youth Orchestra Program of Mexico City for a week of rehearsals, lessons, master classes, concerts, cultural dialogue forums, workshops, and recitals. In Pátzcuaro, the musicians worked with CREFAL to present composition workshops to orphaned boys from the Casa Hogar and senior citizens from the club Nuestros Años Felices. Composer Karl Pestka worked at CMMAS, the famous electronic music center in Morelia, to create a composition reflecting the indigenous Purepecha heritage taught to the CiH musicians by Nuestros Años Felices. The project was underwritten by Kevin and Pam Wolf and the Malcolm and Margret Chubb Charitable Foundation.
For a personal account, please read Geeta's travelogue about Pátzcuaro.
