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

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

of the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

. It was founded in 1971 and is based in Toluca, Mexico State,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

; its home hall is Sala Felipe Villanueva. It has toured in Europe, the United States, and China. They have released multiple recordings of classical music including the works of Mexican and Spanish composers.

History

On August 27, 1971, under the initiative of

Enrique Bátiz Enrique Bátiz Campbell (4 May 1942 – 30 March 2025) was a Mexican conductor and concert pianist. Trained as a pianist in Dallas, New York City and Warsaw, he focused on conducting from 1969. He co-founded the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado d ...

and the government of the Mexico State, 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 Toluca, 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, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 2003, a European Tour led the orchestra to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. 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 beginning. It has given rise to over forty soloists, and also participated in the discovery and encouragement of young performers, through the "International Henryk Szeryng Violin Contest", that begun in 1992. In the four times this contest was held, the OSEM enjoyed the presence of the aspiring violinists of the world, and rewarded a dozen of them. The OSEM has also hosted many guest directors and soloists. 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

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

and

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

, Mexican and Spanish music, the works of Isaac Albéniz, Joaquín Rodrigo, Manuel M. Ponce, and Carlos Chávez, and the symphonies of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Awards

Both the orchestra and its artistic director 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 Toluca Culture of the State of Mexico