The Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales (CREM) Children’s Orchestra and Choir are hard at work rehearsing for the annual Christmas concert at the Auditorio de la Ribera on Saturday, December 20, 7 p.m. The remarkable progress of both groups means that this year they will be performing all but one of the seasonally themed works at this popular annual event.
Such progress is also responsible for the promotion of four students from the children´s orchestra into the young adults’ orchestra: Yaeli Nuñez Arechar, Amairani García Espinoza, Andrea Michelle Ochoa Herrera and Mauro Ramos van der Hoek. A major achievement for each one of them.
The youngsters’ first public performance with the Victor Manuel Medeles Orchestra will be “Concerto Grosso IV” by Corelli, making this a memorable night for all concerned.
Auditions aside, the school and its volunteers have been very busy over the past few months. A new trumpet teacher from San Antonio Tlayacapan has joined the staff, making instruction in this instrument now available too.
The addition of a new office manager has helped enormously in tackling and streamlining the growing volume of administration resulting from increased student numbers.
CREM now has a Facebook presence and its new website – www.cremajijic.com – is well worth a visit. It contains lots of useful information, events, news and photos, together with direct email contact and videos of the children’s orchestra playing some of its most popular pieces.
Just three years ago CREM had four students with scholarships. Since then many more sponsors have stepped forward. Now there are 24, thanks to the generous individual support of people in the wider community.
Donated instruments are always welcome, as are volunteers who can spare a few hours to bring various other useful and much-needed skills to the organization.
The music school is steadily growing, so to boost the revenue from its many fund-raising activities such as this Christmas concert, additional sponsors are urgently being sought to enable more aspiring young musicians to fulfill their potential – and their dreams.
Sponsorship costs $300 pesos a month: just $3,600 pesos a year. This may be from a single individual or from two or more friends who get together to help. Sometimes only half the amount is required.
Taking place just five days before Christmas, the CREM concert, as always, will be a special and enjoyable festive event for its audience, while raising those essential funds to expand the provision of musical training to children within our community.
Tickets $100 pesos: available at Diane Pearl Colecciones, the Lake Chapala Society on Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Auditorium and on the door.