Thursday, May 16, 2024
Congratulations to Orlando Salazar (MM’25), one of just seven musicians awarded an Emerging Artist grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation (SBCF)!
The St. Botolph Club Foundation was established in 1967 to recognize and support artists (visual arts, music, and literature) working in or associated with New England.
Orlando applied for an Emerging Artist grant with the hope of purchasing a new instrument.
Orlando Salazar
“My main goal is to get a job in an orchestra. I’ve been working towards that in the last few months doing auditions, but I recognize that I need a new instrument to compete at the very highest level. You have to have the best skills and the best tools.”
As soon as Orlando received the news he was a grant recipient, he was elated.
“I couldn’t believe it at first, but then I was so happy. It’s also a relief because now I can take more time to practice music rather than working for the money for my instrument.”
A former member of Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Orlando identifies as a performer, an orchestral musician, and a passionate teacher. As an artist, he strives to contribute to society and uphold values as an agent of social change.
He received his undergraduate degree from Longy in 2023 and is back pursuing his Master of Music at the conservatory, developing his expertise on the oboe.
Outside of Longy, Orlando serves as a Teaching Assistant at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Dorchester, inviting and motivating young students to engage with the transformative power of music.
Thanks to his Emerging Artist grant, Orlando can feel confident in his instrument in all his future musical endeavors.
“This oboe is really going to help me.”