CHILE: Streetart Santiago - Balmaceda - Avenida Presidente Balmaceda 1301 - FOJI - SOFRENIA

This artwork was made SOFRENIA in January 2015 as a tribute and advertisement for the music school and association Fundación de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles or in short FOJI. The foundation supports children from socially disadvantaged families with music lessons, orchestral involvement and creativity education through a variety of different programs not only in Santiago, but countrywide. The adress of this beautiful mural with children playing instruments is located at the Centro Cultural Balmaceda and Balmaceda Arte Joven, but the headquarters of FOJI is at Bellavista 990 in the neighbourhood Población León XIII in the district Providencia.

In 1964 the Chilean composer and conductor Jorge Peña Hen, convinced that it was necessary to provide tools for children to develop their abilities and talents, formed the first Children’s Symphony Orchestra in Chile and Latin America. With this, he put all his talent at the service of training children from the most vulnerable schools in the fourth region, promoting the children’s orchestral movement in Chile until his death in 1973.

In 1992 the youth orchestral activity was resumed under the direction of maestro Fernando Rosas and on May 23rd in 2001, maestro Fernando Rosas took up again the legacy left by maestro Peña Hen, creating the Fundación de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Chile (FOJI). This non-profit institution opened a space of opportunities so that children and young people with musical abilities could have an instrument and be part of an orchestra, even when their families did not have the necessary resources to finance it.

At the same time, the Foundation has granted competitive funds for the creation and promotion of community orchestras, and has developed courses, seminars and festivals throughout the country, including the concert season of the orchestras that depend on FOJI. Other important supports have been lutherie workshops, masterclasses, courses and seminars for conductors of children and youth orchestras. Thanks to its dedication, the Fundación de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Chile has been the driving force and inspiration for the development of the country’s youth orchestra movement. In 2001 the national registry registered less than 50 orchestras and today there are more than 500 groups from Arica to Magallanes.

FOJI has 19 orchestras throughout the country, three symphony orchestras in Santiago: the National Youth Symphony Orchestra (OSNJ), the Metropolitan Student Symphony Orchestra (OSEM) and the Metropolitan Children’s Symphony Orchestra (OSIM). In addition, there are 15 symphony orchestras in the regions, a Pre-Children’s Orchestra in the Metropolitan Region (OPIN) and two choral ensembles: FOJI Boys and Girls Choir and FOJI Student Choir. Thus, more than 1.200 children and young people between the ages of 4 and 24 receive annual financial, psycho-social, instrumental and technical support to develop their talent.

On their Youtube Channel you can find numerous videos from concerts and orchestral projects. Here is an interpretation of the Mission Impossible sountrack by young musicians from FOJI.