Palm Beach Symphony Musicians Create Virtual Lessons

Four musicians whose acclaimed musical talents are enriched by their Latin American musical heritage are among a dozen Palm Beach Symphony musicians who have each created a series of online videos for music students.

"Palm Beach Symphony has a history of nurturing music students through free concerts in the schools, coaching and instrument donations," said Palm Beach Symphony CEO David McClymont. "When performances and classes were cancelled due to the pandemic, we turned to our musicians to help sustain that note of community engagement. Through their videos, they are connecting with students who have been isolated from orchestra and band lessons and giving them the confidence and joy to keep making music."

Palm Beach Symphony principal cellist Claudio Jaffé teaches the emerging musicians the physics of sound production and bowing techniques. After making his orchestral debut at the age of 11 in his native Brazil performing a concerto written specifically for him, he toured extensively throughout Brazil and South America. He performed in most Brazilian states both as soloist with orchestra and in recital, having performed in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Recife, Salvador, Curitiba, Manaus, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, and many others, as well as Buenos Aires, Viña Del Mar and Montevideo. He was the cellist with the Bessler String Quartet, taught at the Aldo Parisot, Curitiba, Campos do Jordão, Ex Toto Corde International, and Santa Catarina music festivals. He was the first Brazilian cellist to win the Villa-Lobos International Cello Competition.

A native of Venezuela, Domingo Pagliuca is principal trombonist for the Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera Orchestra as well as performing with the internationally known Boston Brass Quintet, with which he has made several recordings. He was associate principal trombonist of the Orquesta Sinfonica Venezuela for 13 years and toured throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe with such artists as Franco De Vita, Juan Luis Guerra & 4:40, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Enrique, Raphael, and Oscar D'Leon. In 2011, he received four Latin Grammy certificates for his participation in the Latin Grammy-winning album En Primera Fila by Franco De Vita. Having held teaching positions at Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Artes, the Venezuelan Trombone Academy, Carabobo Music Conservatory and the Simon Bolivar Music Conservatory, Pagliuca created instructional videos exploring trombone fundamentals.

Juan Carlos Peña, Palm Beach Symphony principal double bass, held the same position with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in his native Honduras and with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Valle in Colombia. Currently, he is also principal double bass with Florida Grand Opera Orchestra, performs regularly with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and has been with the Nu Deco Ensemble since its first season. In Honduras, Peña held the positions of artistic/technical director of the Victoriano López Music School and music director of both the San Pedro Sula Orchestra and the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Tegucigalpa. In his videos for the Symphony, he explores a variety of bow techniques as well as musicality, vibrato and interpretation of ornaments.

Mexican-American Lucas Sanchez, who serves as principal timpani with for Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera, created videos that include tuning, holding mallets and playing rolls, snare drum techniques and fun scale exercises for mallet instruments. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, he enjoys a multi-faceted career as a percussionist, timpanist and teacher. In 2017, he was appointed principal timpanist of the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Houston Symphony and the Amarillo Symphony. In 2014, Sanchez toured the United States playing timpani with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Miami as a Henri Mancini Orchestra Fellow.

The videos are available at www.palmbeachsymphony.org where there are also personal videos from Palm Beach Symhony's Emmy Award-winning Music Director Gerald Schwarz, videos from previous concerts and links to the best free arts content from the nation's great orchestras.

Recognized by The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County with a 2020 Muse Award for Outstanding Community Engagement, Palm Beach Symphony serves nearly 18,000 students each season.

Don't Miss a Miami Metro News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...