Help Fund the Second Guatemala Music Festival 2025
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Saludos desde Chicago! My name is Josh Rodriguez, and I am composer and music educator. Last year, my colleague, Guatemalan composer Xavier Beteta, and I launched an educational music festival in Guatemala (June 12-15, 2025) in partnership with the Conservatorio National and Universidad Del Valle. It gathered 8 Guatemalan composers, 10 performers, 6 local speakers (an artist, philosopher, three composers, and an ethnomusicologist), and over 300 people in audience attendance. All of this was accomplished with around 3k in private donations (through GoFundMe and other sources) from people like you who believe in arts education and the mutual enrichment of intercultural communication.
To continue building on last year's work, this year we are partnering with "LA CENTRO FEST GUATEMALA 2025" to offer composition workshops alongside their performance workshops!
We believe that music (and music-making) is a powerful bridge - one that is ever more urgently needed today for the sake of intercultural understanding. Music making (in choirs and instrumental ensembles) provides a context for human beings to build genuine cross-cultural relationships and learn to work together "in harmony." (music pun intended!) Attendees will learning from local and international musicians.
As last year, the goal for our contribution to this music festival is:
1) to promote awareness of Guatemalan music and culture
2) to support young musicians who are preparing for professional work in music (performance, film scoring, concert composition, education).
3) to encourage music creation for the marimba (the national instrument)
4) to celebrate Latin American classical music (most of the music being performed at the festival belongs to Latin American women and men and lectures will focus on expanding awareness of our own "classical" and folk music)
Most of our travel and lodging expenses have been covered by resources from various institutions (Elmhurst University, Wheaton College, Universidad Del Valle).
But we need your help to for the last bit: just over $1,000. Your donation would go directly toward paying musicians, recording these performances, & covering the remaining administrative costs (yes, organizing a festival is a huge undertaking).
PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING WHATEVER YOU CAN: $10, $20, $40, $100, etc...
As composers born in Latin America - yet now living in the US - we are passionate about directing the resources and training that we received here in the US and investing it in Latin America.
To see video footage of last year's festival, please visit:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FestivalGuatemalaContemporánea
The future is bright, and you can significantly contribute to making the world a better place by investing in the arts. Please donate to our music festival!
For more information, please visit: https://www.joshrodriguezmusic.com/festival
Organizer
Joshua Rodriguez
Organizer
Elmhurst, IL