– The cooperation with El Sistema makes an impact

– Together with Maestro José Antonio Abreu we will create a large orchestra consisting of young talent from both Venezuela and Norway. Our goal is to create a festival orchestra, which, in addition to giving two concerts during the 2012 Bergen International Festival, will go on a mini-tour of Europe and perform in Caracas. There may also be further collaborations within brass, choir and folk music, said Festival Director Per Boye Hansen during the concluding press conference of the 2011 festival.

With more than 150 events during this year’s festival, there have been many great experiences, the Festival Director pointed out. The artistic programme has all in all received a great response from both audiences and the press.

The visit from more than 200 musicians from Venezuela was a happy addition to the festival programme.  This visit was settled only a few weeks before the opening of the 2011 Festival, and has represented a major lift for the Festival administration. Boye Hansen pointed out that this project is an example of what the Festival should stand for.

– We should be able to realize projects that are impossible to do the rest of the year. The Festival should make an impact on both audiences and on cultural life in general, said the Festival Director, referring to El Sistema’s inspiring successes through combining the broad with the elite, the serious and the humourous.

In Venezuela approximately 400.000 children and youths are a part of the music education programme, which has also managed to create several word-class orchestras and conductors.

During the press conference, Per Boye Hansen also commented on the visitor numbers. The numbers for the 2011 Festival have yet to be finalized, but approximately 50.000 people have visited the Festival’s indoor events and the outdoor concert and opening ceremony.