The ACMP “Wine, Weiner and Witt”  JustPlay event was held in the city of Quito, Ecuador  at Café Rio Intag (and continued at Pizzaria Amici Miel) on March 11, 2024.  This event was led by the violinists Eudin Ramos; María Catalina Paredes; Keyber Perez and the cellist Tom Cappaert.  All of them are active members of the ACMP.  They all  mention feeling deeply grateful for the opportunity to hold cultural events like this one. Some of the works that were performed at “Vino, Weiner and Witt” were “El Curuchá” and “St. Louis Blues”. “El Currucha” was at  first a Venezuelan joropo composed by Juan Bautista Plaza, and it has a popular character. On the other hand, the second song is an American popular song composed by WC Handy in blues style. It was one of the first blues songs to be successful as a pop song and is a fundamental part of the repertoire of jazz musicians. The musicians really enjoyed the versatility of the repertoire, also playing compositions by Haydn , Witt and Vivaldi. One of the advantages of having played in Rio Intag (venue of the event) is that a nearby pizzeria called Amici Miel (where other Ecuadorian musicians played a Grant in 2023) immediately invited the musicians to play the same night, in exchange for pizza, free beer and wine!

It was a very serendipitous event in that all   the Ecuadorian ACMP coaches met at this event.  And of course, we had a great time playing good music and spending time with friends. Thanks to Tom Cappaert, the four coaches: Eudin, Alejandro, Victor and Catalina became part of the ACMP a couple of years ago.

I feel that being part of this organization has given me the opportunity to make international connections, and  to meet incredible people that are full of desire to learn new things about music.

As the first female ACMP coach in Ecuador, in a classical music scene in Ecuador recently dominated by an almost exclusively male leadership- I have achieved artistic growth  through speaking two languages, using technological tools  that break geographical barriers and  by using connections that the  ACMP has made possible through its international community. Furthermore, it is exciting for me to  know that in the vastness of the world; there are people who are committed to Art, who love what they do, and that there are organizations like the ACMP that support all types of music amateurs and professionals, regardless of their age, gender or culture.  I believe that the ACMP desire to promote music through music reading ensembles, seeking new performance venues and creating a greater international community through music is an indicator of greater creativity that will help hold the world together.