Fellows' Voices: joining the Orchestra Institute as a professional musician
By Paula Guimar?es, 2024 French Horn Fellow from Brazil.
The career of an artist may take many turns and continue to change at a very dynamic pace throughout the years. Musicians like myself often face the constant challenge of reinventing ourselves for the sake of improving, growing, perfecting our technique and performance skills, broadening our network, and making connections with others around the world.
It takes a lot of dedication, discipline, and courage to be a musician, for the challenges may be many.
This scenario has naturally always been part of our reality, but it was even heightened by external circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it affected every human being on the planet somehow. In Brazil, my country, the lockdowns and restriction policies directly affected the French horn community as the Annual Brazilian Horn Meeting of 2020, scheduled to happen in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, was put on hold.
For the first time in history, I had planned to put together an all-female ensemble for this four-day-long event, to show the world just how many girls and women are playing the horn in our communities. Because the event got temporarily canceled, as the months passed by I was inspired to pivot towards the online world, starting a virtual octet with some of the best players we had, who did not even necessarily know each other in person yet. This is how the Octeto Feminino do Brasil emerged.
Little did I know that, in a couple of years, I would be the one inspired to join OAcademy Music Conservatory, where musicians from all sorts of backgrounds, academic levels, ages, and artistic fields can connect through technology.
OAcademy training has become one of the most efficient ways for me to remain motivated, much more proactive and interested in different aspects of the music industry. Even after years of already being a professional musician, working in a professional orchestra and developing and contributing to the classical music scenario in Brazil, OAcademy's team and faculty really make me feel that it is worth going back to a classroom, this time taking place online.
Seeking knowledge and intellectual growth is key to being consistent. Before I joined the Orchestra Institute program, I certainly had a few short-term and long-term goals, which are now evolving with the inspiration and artistry that I am receiving through the sessions. As I said at the beginning, the career of an artist is in constant change, for it may take unexpected twists and turns.
With our horn octet, we started to make videos and content for social media both on YouTube and Instagram, which inspired and motivated other musicians to start their own online projects. In 2022, we finally had the chance to perform live at the first Annual Brazilian Horn Meeting after the pandemic, in Bragan?a Paulista, S?o Paulo, and share the stage with the inspiring Berlin Philharmonic horn player Sarah Willis.
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Musical initiatives like these, born during the pandemic, are changing the landscape of music education permanently.
The Orchestra Institute residency that will take place in June will allow me to work side-by-side with some of the greatest musicians on the planet, eliciting a new opportunity for me to have those “a-ha moments”. I am really looking forward to the surprises and opportunities yet to come.
Paula Graziele Guimar?es Santos is a French Horn player from Brazil. Founding member of NEOJIBá, Paula obtained her Bachelor’s degree from NSU (USA) and master’s from University of Chichester (UK). She has won the first prize at the Brazilian Horn Association competition and the second prize at the Funtington Music Association competition. Paula works at UFBA Symphony since 2018, and is a founding member of the Octeto Feminino do Brasil (2020).
Paula is part of the 2024 Cohort of OAcademy's Orchestra Institute.
OAcademy Music Conservatory reinvents the music conservatory experience by making world-class training accessible for talented musicians globally, and relevant to the challenges and opportunities of our time.
Applications for our Artist Diploma fellowship programs for rising orchestral musicians, concert pianists, conductors, and composers will open in July 2024. Sign up for our newsletter to be among the first to hear, and learn more at oacademy.live/apply.