On the picture H. E. Carlos Herrera with the young musicians from Newton College of Lima and their music director Natasha Encinas.
Text and pictures by Ellen Brager.
In his function of Ambassador of Peru to The Netherlands, H. E. Carlos Herrera receives many honored guests in his residence in Wassenaar, but seldom are they as young and as talented as his recent visitors from Peru. A group of young string players from Newton College in Lima traveled to The Hague, accompanied by their teachers and parents to work with local musicians and discover “los Paises Bajos”, the Low Countries as The Netherlands are called in Spanish.
The musical group was comprised of 13 violinists, between the ages of 6 and 15, and one young cellist. They looked forward for this trip for many months and practiced long and hard to prepare an interesting and varied repertoire. During their week-long stay in The Hague they worked together with the Hofstads Jeugdorkest (VHJO), the American School of The Hague (ASH) and the International School of The Hague (ISH) with whom they held several joint concerts.
Having heard about their visit, Mr. Herrera and his spouse Veronique Miclea, did not pass up the opportunity to invite them into their home to get to know them personally and listen to their playing.
Divided in small groups, the kids performed three traditional songs from Peru, filling the Peruvian expats that had been invited to the reception with nostalgia for their country. After the children’s performance, it was the turn of the teachers to delight the guests with their talent. Back home the teachers form a trio of violin, guitar/vocals and percussion, called Las Warmis, which means The Women in the Quechua language that is spoken in the Andes. Their repertoire draws on the rich sounds of the Peruvian folklore and constitutes a paean to the beauty of their country.
In addition to the delegation from Newton College, the Ambassador invited several local musicians and other contributors to the success of the school’s trip, as well as his personal guests and representatives of Diplomat Magazine.
Upon arrival the invitees were treated to a glass of Pisco Sour, the traditional drink of Peru, and a variety of bocaditos, little hors d’oeuvres with Peruvian flavors. After the musical interlude was over, the guests mingled, while Mr. Herrera spoke with his young musical guests and posed with them for some pictures. It was a delightful evening that left the kids feeling honored, the parents and teachers proud, and the guests grateful to have been part of it.
But the Ambassador’s involvement with the Peruvian visit did not stop there. The next day he honored the musicians again by officially opening the last concert of their tour held in the beautiful theater of ASH. After a few welcome words during which he praised the collaboration between the Peruvian musicians and their Dutch counterparts, the children preformed a special program that combined classical music with traditional Peruvian tunes.
The Peruvian musicians opened the concert, not on their string instruments, but on the cajón, an indigenous Peruvian percussion instrument. It is a wooden box that is played with both hands while the musician sits on it.
Lined up in a long row the kids played various rhythms in question and answer format. After this unique opening, the preparatory orchestra and the advanced string ensemble of the VHJO, as well as the string orchestra of ASH, joined the Peruvian musicians in different formations.
In total, close to one hundred musicians who had never performed together before, combined their talents to take the audience on a journey from the Europe of Strauss and Mendelssohn to the high peaks of the Andes. A special highlight was Bach’s double violin concerto, where the solo positions were shared by doubling up musicians from Peru and The Netherlands.
The concert ended with the Peruvian classic “El Condor Pasa”, first in an instrumental version played by the entire orchestra, then, for the encore, the audience was invited to sing along with the instruments. They found the words in Spanish in the concert program and followed two lead vocals on stage.
This final piece, by involving all present – the musicians from Peru, their Dutch counterparts from the VHJO and the many other nationalities represented in the orchestra of ASH as well as in the audience – testified to how music has the power to unite people and share the satisfaction of creating harmony together.
