Chile: Young Violinists Set Music to Films and Anime
Since Saturday, January 13, the Hotel Portillo, 2 ½ hours northeast of Santiago, has been welcoming 57 musicians who will fully focus on musical development for 10 days. Among them are two young members of the Brontë Quartet, an ensemble that plays symphonies from anime, movies, and video games.
By Emilia Aparicio (El Mostrador)
HAVANA TIMES – What do video game music and classical music have in common? Much like in cinema, a lot. They are musical compositions that can be enjoyed on their own; many fans appreciate symphonic concerts of films like those from Studio Ghibli, Star Wars, and other formats, such as video games and anime. This is precisely what the Brontë Quartet specializes in, performing concerts with music from Caroline, One Piece, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario World.
One of the quartet members, Jimmy Beas (25), explains that his approach to music was unusual. Unlike other violinists, no one in his family was a musician or played an instrument. However, since the age of ten, he became interested in video games. The local Cultural Center in San Fernando offered free internet for a certain amount of time, allowing him to enjoy what entertained him. During these visits, he heard an orchestra playing, and out of curiosity, he asked if he could enroll. From that moment, he began his musical career, started playing the violin, and understanding how compositions work.
However, the classes offered to him were not sufficient. “Suddenly, I started to realize that the violin was not unidirectional, as it wasn’t just about studying the music my teacher gave me and Vivaldi’s concerts. So, I said, ‘Of course, if I can play notes, then I can play anything.’ That’s when I started to link it with ‘Oh, I can also play the music from the games I like,’ and I started to practice how the melody makes it seem like there must be something more or less like this. So, I began to link my interest in video game music with my constant practice of the instrument. I think from there, at some point, I didn’t question anything and just kept going,” he explains.
Currently, he is an independent musician and has participated in several symphonies. This year, he is part of the International Music Academy Portillo Festival. Another member of the Bronte Quartet is also one of the 57 young people who were awarded a scholarship to be part of the learning program.
Raul Guerra (27) came across the violin almost by chance. He found the instrument that his brother had used at home, and when changing schools, his interest in learning to play it emerged. In 2013, he joined an orchestra in the Lo Prado district of Santiago. Both young musicians began to learn on their own and without necessarily following traditional paths of music education.
“I just started self-learning a little more about the instrument by searching on the internet, similar to what Jimmy was doing. It wasn’t the Cultural Center; it was the library in my area. They had computers, and I searched for things about tuning the violin, playing notes, and how to do certain things,” Guerra recounts.
Both had participated in previous editions of the International Music Academy Portillo Festival but have decided to return.
Since its creation in 2019, the festival has provided scholarships to musicians to be part of a unique learning program in Chile. This year, a group of 57 young performers from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Latvia, Mexico, and Peru have arrived at the Hotel Portillo resort to spend 10 days entirely dedicated to music, all amid the indescribable landscape of the Andes.
Beyond development, the organizers aim for the festival to be a space with top-notch teachers to learn in a friendly, reflective environment, concerned with the comprehensive development of each young musician. Additionally, each year, the experience concludes with a concert, which will take place on January 22 and 23 this year at the Municipal Theater of Santiago.
“Coming here means thinking about music all day, surrounded by the arts in general, not just our instrument, but the music of our peers, and with this wonderful view that the Hotel Portillo has. I believe anyone would love to have this landscape at any moment of their life, whether for relaxation or work. I think anyone would be happy with this,” Guerra expresses.
During their free time, students discuss rehearsals, share enjoyable moments of laughter, and enjoy the pool, the views, and the activities provided by the program.
Finally, the Orchestra of the International Music Academy Portillo will hold two concerts at the Municipal Theater of Santiago, where they will present “Concierto Collage,” debuting a unique and innovative format with orchestral and chamber group moments.