Balanyá – Music for Guatemala" is a trust which supports a youth orchestra in a small town in Guatemala, Central America - Santa Cruz Balanyá. The orchestra was set up by local people in 2003, and now rehearses regularly and puts on concerts, providing a focus of social and cultural activity where there are few such opportunities. The dynamism and resourcefulness of the Balanyá organisers have overcome many obstacles, but it is desperately difficult for them to pay for teaching.
The trust funds volunteer music teachers who spend time in Guatemala, coaching the orchestra and giving individual lessons. This support began in February 2007 and there have now been seven volunteer stays, including a nine-month period of continuous teaching by Michele Cantoni and Claudia Caldi, ending in July 2009.
Photo: Orquesta Juvenil de Santa Cruz Balanyá 