Welcome to the Cayambis Institute for Latin American Studies in Music!
The Cayambis Institute (CILASiM) is particularly focused on the classical music of Latin America because we envision a future in which the classical music of all of the Americas has contributed to once again strengthen inter-American relations within this hemisphere. If you find yourself agreeing with our mission, please consider clicking on this button to help sustain our organization.
A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
To realize our objectives, we have identified four main areas, performance, education, publishing and composition, in which we are actively involved with various programs and services.
1. Performance. We encourage musicians at every level to perform the rich and diverse heritage of Latin America’s classical music. In the past, across our country there were many opportunities to hear this music live or over the radio. It is in this spirit that our Cayambis Artist Program is an example of the sort of work that we’re trying to do in this area. At the same time, we operate our own professional chamber orchestra, the Cayambis Sinfonietta, that features the music of the Americas in its concert performances. (Pictured: the Cayambis Sinfonietta in concert).
2. Education. We believe that the richness and diversity of Latin America’s classical music offers unique opportunities to pique the interest of any student. Because of this, our educational programming is designed so as to tip the balance in favor of an approach that is more representative of the musical culture of Latin America. At the same time, our educational initiatives also extend to scholarly endeavors, such as making lectures available to college and university music programs, and maintaining a blog dedicated to Latin American classical music. (Pictured: the Cayambis Sinfonietta performing in a public school).
3. Publishing. Founded in 2013, Cayambis Music Press not only represents the finest music being composed today by composers from nearly every Latin American country, but also, CMP has done a substantial amount of work in order to identify, acquire and then publish some of the most significant Latin American classical music of the past 150 years. Today, our catalog of nearly 600 titles has been performed and recorded by some of the finest artists and ensembles in the world. Click here to download our catalog. (Pictured: Andrés Carrizo, left, and Carmen Borregales, right, at the 2023 ClariFest).
4. Composition. A vicious circle is being perpetuated that keeps the US public unaware of a rich repertoire of music just south of our border. Because of this, we are supporting Latin American composers in as many ways as possible. We do this by calling attention to the fact that this music has been chronically underserved on stages, in recording studios and in college curricula. But in more concrete terms, we also sponsor a biennial composition competition, by which to directly support Latin American composers. (Pictured: John with Panamanian composers Dino Nugent, Samuel Robles and Carlos Camacho).
KEEPING UP WITH CILASiM!
There’s a lot going on! When we’re not editing and publishing brand new compositions, then maybe we’re preparing a grant application. Or, when we’re not doing either of these two things, then maybe we’re getting ready to go to a trade show or conference. Or, maybe, we’re either organizing a Sinfonietta concert or a tour, or we’re out performing. In short, ours is a busy organization, and the best way to keep up with it all is through our newsletter. In addition to insider news and special features, you, too, can be a part of our Cayambis community of enthusiasts! To be in the loop and in the know, all you have to do is click on the link!
