# Award from the Ibero-American Youth Orchestras Program for the Children's Guitar Orchestra Clave de Sol and for young pianist Malva Rodríguez González

**Date:** 01/14/2022

The highest honors of the Ibero-American Youth Orchestras Program in its Young Group Competition and Young Performer of the Year Award 2021 were achieved by Cuban artists.

In the young group category, the Children's Guitar Orchestra Clave de Sol earned recognition, while in the Young Performer Award, Cuban pianist Malva Rodríguez González was distinguished with first place, competing against a large group of emerging artists from Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay, among other nations.

The Children's Guitar Orchestra Clave de Sol is a sociocultural project that aims to contribute to the development of vocal and instrumental skills in children and young people, as well as to promote traditional Cuban music, using choral singing and instrumental practice.

Founded on May 2, 2009, by teacher Yamilé García Zurita along with Nuria García Reyes as musical director, the ensemble is more than a pedagogical experience because all members play the guitar and sing, through the teaching method devised by Clara Romeo Nicola, which is based on collective singing and the incorporation of a practical system for teaching popular guitar; furthermore, they read chord notation and study music theory according to each person's interest.

Recently, this children and youth group earned the National Community Culture Award in 2021, in the sociocultural project category.

Young Cuban pianist Malva Rodríguez González has been trained under the mentorship of the renowned teacher Hortensia Upmann, who placed her hands on the piano, particularly marking her with her teaching system. She continued her work with Aimée Herrera, a student of Hortensia and, therefore, very familiar with her educational method, and is currently a student of teacher and exceptional interpreter Aldo López-Gavilán Junco.

During her training, she has earned recognition in three editions of the National Amadeo Roldán Piano Competition, and in 2021, she was the winner of second prize in the Latin American Piano Competition América para Todos.

These awards given to the Children's Guitar Orchestra Clave de Sol and pianist Malva Rodríguez—by the Ibero-American Youth Orchestras Program—underscore the commitment of these artists to the community, as well as their work ethic, camaraderie, and innovation demonstrated by them during their performances. Also, of course, the competition recognized in them the technical-interpretive capacity of both award winners.

The Ibero-American Youth Orchestras Program is a facilitator among countries that develop community and professional music education projects. Through this platform, the girls, boys, and young people who participate in the projects enrich themselves in the knowledge of sister countries, and constitute a community in which they share realities and learn to value the diversity of Ibero-America.