Cuban American Youth Orchestra

CAYOs advance trip to Havana in February of 2019 we call these trips Arts Delegations -established and cemented several key relationships that would lead to our successful tour in May. We brought a major New York-based string quartet, Catalyst Quartet, that grew out of Detroits Sphinx Organization, the nations leading champion for diversity in the arts. Catalyst, made up of Latinx and African-American musicians including a Cuban-American, spent a week in Havana working with student musicians who were selected by our partners at Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana. 20 Havana-based students were given individualized instruction as well as group coaching and masterclasses. The string section of the Matanzas Symphony Orchestra also participated in a day of education and collaboration. CAYOs May 2019 tour ensemble drew from many of these participants with the end result that we were not complete strangers when we all gathered for the first time as a full orchestra. The February Arts Delegation week culminated in a performance at the beautiful Oratorio San Felipe Neri in Old Havana. The program was shared by Catalyst Quartet and Cuarteto de La Habana, a young professional ensemble on the cutting edge of classical music on the island. Their performance of a Cuban piece by composer Jorge Amado Molina led to a fruitful connection. This 22-year old violinist and composer, already internationally recognized for his compositions, made an instant connection with Catalyst violinist and well-known composer Jessie Montgomery whose piece was also performed on the concert. CAYO was able to recognize once again the potential for mutual understanding, creative collaboration and cultural sharing when both parties are presented on equal footing in a neutral atmosphere. Several months later, Jorge Amado Molina was invited to compose an encore for CAYOs tour, which was premiered in Matanzas and Havana in May and in Minnesota in November 2019