Learning how to play music together represents an experience of social exchange, a symbolic space where a complex plot of beliefs, images, feelings, actions, dreams, hopes and plans are disseminated in the child and in the young people who participate in it.
Learning to play an instrument in Dream Orchestra is a versatile, cyclical, transformative, disciplinary, interactive and systematic but not immovable activity that considers its members as peers and places the musical pedagogical action as a field for renewal and reflection.
For the result to be successful, everyone’s collaboration is required, and this reinforces trust and fosters empathy that reaches out to the entire group. This leads to the sense of union, reduces conflicts and improves individual well-being. While playing music together, interaction is promoted, because it is important to listen to the other, to achieve the correct tuning, the right balance, to play or sing at the right time, just as you should act in everyday life.
Dream Orchestra Learning Center
Teacher’s training program
The Dream Orchestra teacher’s training program attends both the teachers as the more advanced students who are growing up in the orchestra. The program is focused on helping future “orchestra teachers” develop a multifaceted profile required to attend efficiently to the needs of the learning dynamics in the context of the symphony orchestra and stimulate the development of musical-, technical- and socioemotional skills in the young students through the practice of playing together in the orchestra.
Here, the teacher can improve their competences as an orchestral trainer, cultivating and exchanging important personal, musical, pedagogic and management skills, as each of them bring important pedagogic knowledge and musical experience of their own. They work as a team and support each other in the diverse tasks that await them every week, designing the strategies for each sectional or tutti rehearsal and assigning the different roles to each of the teachers.
Dream Orchestra’s teachers are passionate musicians, who love to share all they know with their students. They are interested in their student’s background and life and treat them with affection and respect. Inviting the students with enthusiasm and creativity to participate in the intensive orchestral activity, the teachers take the time to also work explicitly on the development of social and emotional skills of the students.
As a caring observer, the teacher creates a safe environment where everyone learns at its pace, always aware of the responsibility they have as a role model. Applying different strategies to help the student to overcome the instrumental technical requirements, to learn how to read and understand the score musically and to explore and understand the stylistic and musicological issues of the chosen sequential repertoire, they prepare the young musicians to present their achievements in a concert.
Mentor Program
From the very first day starting your activities at Dream Orchestra, you’re part of the orchestra and become an artist with a date for a first concert in your agenda.
In sectional and general rehearsals that take place several days a week, the musical and technical challenges are overcome in an accompanied and guided way which will help you to feel motivated and safe.
As like-minded individuals, Dream Orchestra’s young leaders have grown up musically together over the past 4 years and have created a sense of community. Aged 15 to 19 years old, they are passionate about making a difference and show commitment with the orchestra.
As a young leader you’re invited to learn about the different aspects that shape the Dream Orchestra dynamics. On a regular basis, you receive apprentice-workshops in which, with the help of the teachers/mentors, you prepare your action plan for the next marathon day. As part of this training, you assist the teachers in the introduction and junior orchestras and attend workshops that provide tools for problem solving, team building, public speaking and personal leadership.
“Learning by doing”
The teachers at Dream Orchestra are integral to the learning process, working together as a team to create and implement strategies that help students overcome both technical and musical challenges. They ensure that the process of making musical progress is not only effective but also joyful and meaningful. They don’t just lead instrumental workshops or sectional rehearsals; they sit alongside their students during full orchestra rehearsals, guiding them through the larger context of symphonic music. This immersive approach reflects the “learning by doing” philosophy at the core of Dream Orchestra’s teaching model.
In addition to working directly with the students, DO’s teachers also collaborate closely with the artistic director. This allows them to become part of a holistic learning process where they have opportunities to lead rehearsals and explore new teaching techniques. For the teachers, learning by doing is an essential part of their professional development as well, as they refine their teaching and leadership skills in a real-world context.
In DO we learn about music and instruments of course but besides that we all learn social lessons too. Like communicating with new people, respecting others and working as a team. These tools are useful for everyone in social life, at school or at work.
