The interventions framed in the IV version of 'Active Musicians Uniting Traditions', included workshops and advice for brass instruments, as well as educational and gala concerts.

For six days, the trombonist and director of the Music Department of the University of La Serena, Martín Herrera Mauad, and the corn player and teacher of said unit, Alejandro Meléndez Pino, visited the Rapa Nui territory with the aim of offering a series of activities artistic activities to the inhabitants of the island and also share their musical and pedagogical experiences with teachers and students from the Toki Music School.

The cultural exchange included advice for bronze instruments, educational concerts and gala presentations, with a high pedagogical and formative nature, which were framed in the IV version of 'Active Musicians Uniting Traditions', a project devised and headed by the former academic from the house of higher education, Valeria Prado Zárate, who has lived in the island territory for more than six years and who currently teaches the new trumpet class in the establishment founded by the concert pianist Mahani Teave, where until 2016 there were only classes piano, violin, cello, as well as ukulele and ancestral singing.

Regarding the realization and scope of this new musical call on the island, Prado stated, via telephone, that she was very happy and grateful to those who allowed this success: “for me it has been very nice and a pleasant surprise to be able to make this fourth version since the first and second musical calls had the support of the Music Fund of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, while this year we only have the support of private parties, the community and the Cultural Corporation of the Municipality of Rapa Nui”.

However, despite the efforts to maintain and be able to perform these cycles of learned music, Valeria feels a social responsibility with the community with which she shares daily: “it has been very nice to be able to perform 'Active Musicians Uniting Traditions' because the people of The island is looking forward to them and they always ask me when more musicians will come or when the next concerts will be, and I notice that there is a captive audience that goes to these events a lot and is waiting to participate," said the musician from Hanga Roa.

Musical journey to the Navel of the World

For the prominent Serenense horn player, this was his second trip to Rapa Nui. The first one was held in 2016, where he offered, together with Valeria, a series of educational and gala concerts at different venues in the territory. On this occasion, he was accompanied by the Director of the ULS Music Department, Martín Herrera, with the aim of promoting recitals and musical workshops for bronze instruments, forging ties and future collaborations.

“Since 2016, this project has been very well received by the people of Rapa Nui, which is why it has continued to be independent of funding applications. This year I suggested to Valeria to invite Martín Herrera, in his capacity as Director of the Music Department of the University of La Serena and trombonist, to perform recitals and horn and trombone workshops, but mainly to begin establishing ties with the Corporation itself. Municipal of Rapa Nui and the Toki Music School (…). The idea is to provide support and provide advice to those who carry out these classes, like Valeria, who is currently in charge of teaching these classes. She is a pianist and has dabbled in the trumpet for a few years; However, since there is no human resource on the island, she had to take charge of these chairs and we went to advise her, and also to support the possibility of opening to other instruments within the bronze area,” commented Alejandro Meléndez.

In the case of the Director of the ULS Music Department, his first cultural exchange with the island meant a very special moment: “it was magical, as were its people who were willing to receive new musical knowledge. The workshop we held at the Toki Music School was a success, together with Alejandro we covered everything from stretching and breathing exercises to sound emission and interpretation (...). Furthermore, during our stay we performed two recitals with Valeria Prado, one at the Toki Music School and another at the Tongariki Cultural Center, both with a good audience and with a very varied program, from baroque music to XNUMXst century music. At the end of each recital, the attendees approached us to talk and learn about our work and our instruments that have not yet been developed on the island, so the interest shown by the attendees was very comforting,” Martín Herrera explained.

In the words of Valeria Prado, “it was super nice that Martín and Alejandro came because at this moment, somewhat coincidentally, there are quite a few people on the island who play wind and brass instruments specifically. For now, at the Toki Music School there is only one student taking trumpet classes, but there are several people or musicians who have arrived from Santiago who have their bands and who play self-taught. So the advice provided by my colleagues was key; Furthermore, they allowed me to extend the invitation to the entire island and not just to the students of Toki, where many people went; There were kids who played saxophone, flute, trombone and trumpet, so it was super good for them to have a more professional opinion and be able to clarify several of their doubts.”

Strengthening ties

After this enriching cultural exchange, the Serenense musicians have envisioned in the medium term working on new projects linking with the environment that will allow them to promote and increase the musical world of students from both territories: “I feel the responsibility of planting a seed in Rapa Nui so that over time a tree rich in fruits grows. Our next challenge is to visit the island with an ensemble of brass instrument students with the aim of performing recitals; In addition, with the support of our university authorities, donate brass instruments to the Toki Music School: a trombone, a trumpet, a French horn, and prepare three instructors during our stay and implement the teaching of these instruments on the island.” , specified the Director of the ULS Music Department.

Finally, Alejandro Meléndez added that they are working on “how to continue encouraging the bronze chair in Rapa Nui, and for that we need to generate a second connection; At least that is my idea, so that kids from the Toki Music School come to play on the continent, at the University of La Serena, and students from our higher education institution or the Jorge Peña Hen Music School also have the possibility to travel and offer recitals on the island.”