The Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (OSEM) is the symphony orchestra of the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

. It was founded in 1971 and is based in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city ...

, Mexico State,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

; its home hall is Sala Felipe Villanueva.

History

On August 27, 1971, under the initiative of Enrique Bátiz Campbell and the government of the

Mexico State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (OSEM) was founded. Its purpose is the spreading of music as an art, to create unity and identity among the citizens of the state. The orchestra is located in the city of

, and its home hall is the Sala Felipe Villanueva. The Orchestra has been characterized by its endeavor to carry its message to all the municipalities of the state, to all corners of the country. It was also the first institution of its kind to visit the 16 political divisions of the Federal District. It began giving

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s in the main settings of the capital of the country, from the Bellas Artes theater and National Auditorium to the Sala Nezahualcoyotls, as well as other halls in the outlying areas, such as the San Benito Abad theater of the Centro Escolar del Lago, in the municipality of Cuautitlán, which, in spite of its location–40 kilometers from the center of the city–rose in popularity for the metropolitan public, due to the area and the admirable acoustic conditions and the comfort of the hall. The OSEM performed at the Fourth Festival of the Historic Center of Campeche, and the following year at the Orchestral Festival organized by the National Council for Culture and Arts. For 6 years, the orchestra carried out a Festival in Valle de Bravo, in the state of Mexico, showing through it how excellent art can be when it is the result of a joint effort of the living forces of the country. Between 1983 and 1985, the orchestra was under the direction of maestro Manuel Suárez, and later, until 1989, Eduardo Diaz Muñoz.

Tours

In 1975, the OSEM made its first tour to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, returning continuously for three years, starting in 1979, playing in the most important cities. In 2002, it toured for the first time in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. In 2003, a European Tour led the orchestra to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 2005, the orchestra traveled to Paris, France and performed two concerts, one in Salle Gaveau and the other in Theater Mogador, with extraordinary success. In September 2005, the OSEM traveled to the People's Republic of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

to perform six concerts in the most important cities of this country, including

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest c ...

and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. In 2008 the OSEM was invited by Colombia Artists Management to play a 49-concert tour of the US lasting more than nine weeks. Concerts were performed all over the US, including New York, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, California, and Nevada. In 2010 the OSEM and Enrique Batiz performed two concerts in Granada, Spain, which were broadcast live and recorded for DVD video release.

Contributions to the performing community

The promotion of new musical talents has been an objective of the orchestra since its beginnings. It has given rise to over forty excellent soloists, and also participated in the discovery and encouragement of young performers, through the "International Henryk Szeryng Violin Contest", begun in 1992. In the four times this contest was held, the OSEM enjoyed the presence of the most notable aspiring violinists of the world, and rewarded a dozen of them. The OSEM has also hosted many guest directors and soloists, chosen from the most outstanding in the world. An accomplishment of the OSEM, assisted by the Trust Foundation, has been the institutionalization of the Festival Valle de Bravo year after year, since 1997. Concerts of this festival take place in the town in Valle de Bravo as well as in the theater of Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Recordings

The recordings of the OSEM cover the broadest range of any Mexican orchestra. They include recordings dedicated to the works of Verdi and Rossini, Mexican and Spanish music, the works of Isaac Albéniz, Joaquín Rodrigo, Manuel M. Ponce and Carlos Chávez, and the integral series of the symphonies of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

and

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Awards

Both the orchestra and its

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since th ...

have repeatedly received the Annual Award from the Mexican Union of Chroniclers of Theater and Music, given for its 25th anniversary by the First Festival of Classical Music in 1996 with the participation of other orchestras in the country, as well as for its promotion of musical activities in Mexico.

References

External links

Conservatorianos de México
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico Mexican orchestras Musical groups established in 1971