A free music training program in Guayaquil is giving nearly 100 children and young people access to choir and orchestra instruction, with some alumni going on to join international ensembles, El Universo reported.
Semillero Guayas operates at the Teatro Centro Cívico Eloy Alfaro, offering free musical training, instrumental and vocal technique for orchestra and choir, according to the report. The project was founded in 2019 by soprano Paulina Sánchez and children’s and youth orchestral director Ángeles Terreros to bring young people closer to creativity and foster musical development.
Approximately 100 minors attend classes Monday through Friday in four groups: seed orchestra, seed choir, youth choir and youth orchestra, each capped at 25 students. Sánchez told El Universo that most adolescents who have grown up in the program now study at the University of the Arts or the Antonio Neumane Conservatory, while one young man represented Ecuador in Uruguay and another joined the Ibero-American Youth Orchestra in Panama.
Terreros described the space as a tool for building human bonds and strengthening coexistence. Families make significant sacrifices to participate, the report said. Susana Pardo travels about two hours each way by bus from northwestern Guayaquil so her 14-year-old daughter, discovered to be a lyric soprano, can attend rehearsals. Carina Ramírez brings her 12-year-old daughter twice weekly, organizing meals to protect her voice and often arriving in school uniform.
The program’s free access and community focus have also drawn visiting instructors, including choral director Gabriela Fernández from El Salvador, who praised the students’ discipline and commitment.
For more information, visit eluniverso.com.