Strings4All - Where are we sending strings?
The first Strings4All collection (1 January - 15 February 2021) collected 5,000 strings.
This is where they’re going!
To see photos of the people who have received strings, click here.
Pereira, Colombia
Escuela de Formación Cultural, Cuerdas Sinfonicas (Cultural training school, Symphonic Strings department)
Pereira is the second largest city in the coffee growing region of Colombia, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia."
The Escuela de Formación Cultural is an extra-curricular programme which offers 6,000 children from in and around Pereira the chance to study dance, music, theatre and visual arts. Whilst the programmes are open to everyone, they are mainly aimed at vulnerable areas of the city, with the aim of strengthening culture and improving quality of life.
3,639 (as of 2020) study music, and the strings we’re sending are for the “Symphonic Strings” department, which has 400 students.
Why are we sending strings here?
Most of the students at this school are from poorer areas of the city. If they are lucky enough to have their own instrument (most are owned by the school), it is likely that buying strings is a huge luxury which isn’t possible for every family. If a string breaks, it may be a long time before money is saved-up to buy a new string.
Added to that, the school is run by the local government, which means that the teachers have a very difficult time getting new strings for the instruments that are owned by the school.
For example, the school owns 4 double basses. At the moment (as of March 27 2021), 3 of them have only 1 or 2 strings. The teachers asked 6 months ago for replacements, but they still haven’t received them. This is because the bureaucratic process of buying instrument material is difficult and time-consuming. New strings are not stocked by the school - if something breaks, the teachers have to ask the authorities to buy new ones, but as the budgets are assigned each year, it could be months before the request is even considered. Buying instrument materials then has to be approved by all of the directors of the school, after which the purchase is assigned to another department which has to look at all of the options on the market to find the cheapest options. This itself can takes months and be cancelled at any moment.
By sending the used strings we have collected to this school, the teachers and students will be able to by-pass this arduous process and enjoy learning and making music together. We hope you’re as happy about this as we are!
The ‘Symphonic Strings’ department of the Escuela de Formación Cultural in Pereira, Colombia
Bello, Antioquia, Colombia
The Amadeus Foundation, a wonderful not-for-profit organisation which over its 30 year history has given over 10,000 children in Colombia the chance to learn an instrument and be part of ensembles, runs a musical school in Bello, near Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín.
There are 60 string students, from complete beginners to an intermediate level orchestra.
Why are we sending strings here?
The children are all from families with very limited financial incomes, living in the area of Bello called Tierradentro. The families simply cannot afford to buy strings, and the Amadeus Foundation also has very limited resources to maintain the instruments of the school. If they do manage to buy strings, often it’s not exactly when the children need them, and they’re often of low quality.
The strings we send them are of immense and immediate help!
Participants of Amadeus Foundation’s music centre in Bello, Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Filarmónico Entre Cuerdas (String Philharmonic) is a project that aims to support adults that would like to start playing music again but for economical reasons have not been able to. It also inspires and supports people who would like to begin playing. Everything is done with the aim of improving society and reducing the huge gap between rich and poor in Colombia. Not only is a completely free for people to take part, but they do not receive any financial support from the government or companies.
Why are we sending strings here?
The “Filarmónico Entre Cuerdas” (String Philharmonic) in action!
Many of the instruments have had the same strings for years and the musicians do not have the financial means to buy strings, let alone of good quality. As the project doesn’t receive any financial support, we felt the best we could do was to support them with good strings!
Canaima, Venezuela
In the "Campamento Canaima" in the national park Canaima, there’s a musical school which is part of "El Sistema de Orquestas y Coros Infantiles y Juveniles de Venezuela". Of the 250 children approx. 30 are string players.
Why are we sending strings here?
Find out more about the music school in Canaima, Venezuela
The students in this school are from very poor backgrounds, meaning their families cannot buy accessories for instruments, since they barely have enough for food and basic necessities. In addition, due to the distance of the school from the city, it is very difficult for accessories to reach this region. Many of the children had to abandon their playing for lack of accessories. The school does not have enough resources, but are making great efforts to support all of the children.