Above: the Dominican Republic’s National Symphony

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Dominican Republic’s National Council of Culture has approved the creation of an Academy of Orchestral Studies, a new body that will be operated with private funds and assigned to the National Symphony Orchestra.

The proposal was submitted to the agency by Maestro Jose Antonio Molina, who said the new entity would “strengthen and support the development of young musicians.”

Molina is the principal conductor of the Dominican Republic’s national symphony.

Ultimately, the goal will be for those students to join the national orchestra.

Under the plan adopted, students will participate in an instrumental development programme lasting two years.

The project, which was approved unanimously by the NCC, had been undergoing evaluation for two years. It will be implemented beginning in January 2013.

It’s the latest classical music development on the island of Hispaniola, following the launch in Haiti of a classical music plan for young musicians modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema programme.