International Children's Double Bass Festival – Que Pasa San Miguel – Eventos en San Miguel de Allende
By Fernanda Noriega
What is a double bass? Many people confuse this instrument with the cello and the tololoche, a traditional instrument from southern Mexico, but they have nothing to do with each other, they are completely different instruments! However, the large size of the double bass brings with it a problem: many musicians begin their training from a very early age, it is not uncommon to see a 6-year-old child taking violin, flute, oboe, and even cello classes without any impediment. But what about kids who choose to be double bass players? Well, it happens that their teachers or their parents consider that because the double bass is the largest instrument in height and volume, the child will not be able to «reach it,” and so they first learn to play the cello until adolescence when they are allowed to change to double bass… But that means starting from scratch!
Currently, the taboos around this beautiful but cumbersome instrument have been disappearing: Yes, it’s big, yes, it tends to be played by male musicians, yes, it doesn’t have the prominence of some other instruments of the orchestra, but today there are double basses of the ideal size for a child of 5-6 years to learn without any difficulty.
From this, the idea arose of creating a beautiful musical project: the International Children’s Double Bass Festival. This year, the third edition will be held, but it will be the first to be held in person and it will be held in San Miguel! Imer Acuña, founder and director of the festival, is making the final preparations for this event that will bring together children from different parts of the country, as well as teachers from Mexico and the world who are committed to a common ideology: that music changes your life. Therefore, Imer, this writer, Fernanda Noriega, and a great team of musicians are pleased to share with readers that the festival will take place from October 14 to 16 of this year, and we extend an invitation to musicians from San Miguel who wish to contribute something to the students who will participate in this edition. Everything is welcome!
The opening concert/recital will take place on Friday, October 14, at the Ángela Peralta Theater, and on the Saturday and Sunday the focus will be on master classes, conferences, gatherings, and many more surprises. We invite you to keep up to date with the latest news and, if you wish, to participate in some way in this project that arose from the love of music and its teaching.