Created within the Instituto Moinho Cultural Sul-Americano (South American Cultural Mill Institute), OCAMP (Orquestra de Câmara do Pantanal – Pantanal Chamber Orchestra) gives two performances this weekend, in Rio de Janeiro. One of the performances also marks young José Maikson’s debut as OCAMP’s conductor in another state.

The first conductor from Corumbá, Maikson trained at Moinho Cultural, studied Music at university outside Mato Grosso do Sul and returned to Corumbá. With support from OSB (Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira – Brazilian Symphony Orchestra), through the Programa Vale Música (Vale Music Program), he has now graduated as a conductor and taken over OCAMP.

“We are celebrating the training of a new conductor for Corumbá. José Maikson is the first conductor from Corumbá and was trained by Moinho Cultural, with the help of partners who are very special to us. This is a unique and extremely important moment. It is the moment of OCAMP’s consolidation and also of Moinho Cultural’s 18-year maturity,” says Moinho Cultural’s executive director, Márcia Rolon.

For José Maikson, 27, the debut as conductor outside the stages of Mato Grosso do Sul is another step in his career. “It’s a very important step, that will certainly mark my career. And it is the fruit of the contribution of many people who helped me get here, in my training,” he recalls.

OCAMP’s first performance in Rio de Janeiro will be on Saturday (10th), at Sala Cecília Meireles, starting at 2pm. The Orquestra Chiquinha Gonzaga and the Orquestra Sinfônica Jovem Fluminense will also perform.

The performance takes place at the invitation of Sala Cecília Meireles’s director, conductor João Guilherme Ripper, who is also OCAMP’s patron.

Then on Sunday (11th), OCAMP takes the stage again, but at Aterro do Flamengo, together with OSB. The performance is an integration between OSB and the Programa Vale Música, and will feature the participation of 36 young program students, coming from the cities of Belém (PA), Serra (ES) and Corumbá (MS), who took part in educational and artistic activities with the orchestra throughout 2022.

One of the performances is also the debut of the Orchestra’s new conductor in another state. Photo: Publicity handout

Conducting will be by maestro Daniel Guedes, who will lead works such as “Bachianas Brasileiras nº 4”, by Heitor Villa-Lobos, the Overture from the opera “William Tell”, by Rossini, and “Saudade”, by Chiquinha Gonzaga. The concert is free and starts at 4:30pm.

The young people who will be with OSB at the concert are some of those who took part in intense activities with the orchestra in 2022. There were classes, artistic mentoring, teaching residencies, workshops, participation in concerts, among other activities, aimed at improving the students’ instrumental technique and offering them an orchestral experience.

“This is the start of our 18th anniversary year. Nothing could be more special than playing at Aterro do Flamengo. It’s a week that starts with the performance alongside OSB and ends with Moinho InConcert, in the format of a public class this year. We can only be grateful for this path and to all our partners, especially Vale, which for 18 years has believed in and invested in us,” says Márcia.

Instituto Moinho Cultural Sul-Americano

Moinho Cultural is a civil society organization that offers children and adolescents in situations of social vulnerability in Corumbá, Ladário, Puerto Suarez and Puerto Quijarro, classes in dance, music, technology and computer science. The ongoing training offered by the institution lasts up to eight years. Moinho also works on training creative performers for young people and adults, through the Companhia de Dança do Pantanal (Pantanal Dance Company), Orquestra de Câmara do Pantanal and the Technology Center. The institution’s mission is to reduce social vulnerability in the Brazil-Bolivia border region, through access to cultural and technological assets. Since the start of its activities, more than 23,000 children and adolescents have already been served by Moinho.

The Institute currently has master sponsorship via the Instituto Cultural Vale’s Cultural Incentive Law, as well as sponsorship from Bellalluna Participações LTDA, BRINKS, BTG Pactual, CaraÍ Empreendimentos LTDA, COMPER, Instituto Itaú Cultural, HINOVE, Rodobens and Criança Esperança, support from the Government of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, through the Fundação de Cultura de Mato Grosso do Sul, in addition to the partnership with J.Macêdo, Itaú Social and Fecomércio MS-SESC. And cultural support from Instituto FAR.

Institutional partners include the Corumbá City Hall, Ladário City Hall, Puerto Suárez City Hall, Puerto Quijarro City Hall, Instituto Homem Pantaneiro, IFMS, UFMS, Acaia Pantanal and other individual and corporate donors.

About Instituto Cultural Vale

Instituto Cultural Vale (Vale Cultural Institute) starts from the principle that experiencing culture allows people to broaden their view of the world and create new perspectives for the future. It plays an important role in social transformation and seeks to democratize access, foster art, culture, knowledge and the spread of diverse artistic expressions of our country, while contributing to the strengthening of the creative economy. There are more than 300 projects created, supported or sponsored in 24 states and the Federal District underway in 2022. Among them, a network of its own cultural spaces, sponsored via the Federal Culture Incentive Law, with free admission, unique identity and vocation: Memorial Minas Gerais Vale (MG), Museu Vale (ES), Centro Cultural Vale Maranhão (MA) and Casa da Cultura de Canaã dos Carajás (PA). Where there is Culture, Vale is there. Visit Instituto Cultural Vale’s website: institutoculturalvale.org

About the Programa Vale Música

Programa Vale Música (Vale Music Program) is an original project of Instituto Cultural Vale. The program is a collaborative teaching and learning network among students from music hubs in four states – Pará, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul – and professionals from the country’s biggest orchestras. In total, it involves around 250 professionals and more than 1,000 students in exchanges, classes and artistic residencies. Partners of the Programa Vale Música include the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira (OSB), Orquestra Ouro Preto, Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (Osesp) and Nova Orquestra, sponsored through the Federal Culture Incentive Law. Learn more about the Programa Vale Música at institutoculturalvale.org.