La Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil del Estado de Veracruz (OSJEV)

For those interested in the cultural life of Xalapa, the important news is that Xalapa is blessed with not one but two outstanding symphony orchestras. The famous one and it's little sibling, la Sinfónica Juvenil. That's Maestro Antonio Tornero the man in charge. I think he always wears a white jacket.

Like other youth symphony orchestras around the world, Xalapa's youth symphony is composed of young musicians and serves as a training ground, but this orchestra is definitely not in the minor leagues. You won't hear any screeching violins or sour off key clarinets because these young musicians are tops in their class and they study under some of the best teachers and coaches in the business. The maximum age of a member is 29 years, but I cannot tell from the official web page of OSJEV what the minimum age might be. I doubt they would turn away a prodigy though. Here is the official web site:

http://groups.msn.com/osjev/_whatsnew.msnw

During their regular season, which should roughly correspond to the academic schedule of local universities, they present concerts in the Teatro Estatal, located a short distance from the main commercial district of Xalapa.

Now you want to hear the best part? Tickets are a great bargain. The better seats are 30.00 pesos and the economy seats are 20.00 pesos. I have listened from seats in each section and can not tell a bit of difference. The higher priced seats are of course closer to the podium, but for orchestral performances, I cannot see a great advantage. As for the acoustics in this sala, they leave little to be desired, but I should say perhaps people with better hearing acuity than me might say different.

For me, the two or three dollars (rough conversion I use is 10:1) for a performance by Orquesta Juvanil is a truly a bargain and one of the blessings of living in Xalapa.