The Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Band (SBYSB) was formed in 2005 by the initiative of Jesús Ignacio Pérez Perazzo and Valdemar Rodríguez, who saw the necessity to establish an ensemble made up of El Sistema’s wind instrumentalists.

The SBYSB, the only symphony band that is part of El Sistema’s academic program, is composed of musicians from all over Latin America with ages ranging from 12 to 30.

The band made its debut in February, 2006, under the baton of its then music director Jesús Ignacio Pérez Perazzo. Its varied repertoire includes contemporary works written for symphony bands, chamber music, jazz, arrangements of orchestral repertoire, patriotic marches, Venezuelan traditional works, sacred music, film music themes, and Paso Doble.

The SBYSB gives seminars, tours Venezuela and makes recordings on a regular basis. In December 2006, under the sponsorship of Shell Venezuela, the Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Band released an album entitled Música del Templo y de la Plaza, so as to promote Venezuelan music.

Pianist Sadao Muraki, singers Biella Da Costa and Rafael "El Pollo" Brito, clarinetist Jorge Montilla, trumpet player Gaudy Sánchez, and trombonist Miguel Sánchez have appeared as guest soloists with the SBYSB. The band has welcomed notable guest conductors to its podium: Eduardo Salazar, Sergio Rosales, Carlos Andrés Mejías, the German maestro Thomas Clamor, the Belgian conductor and composer Jan Van der Roost, the American conductor and clarinetist Jonathan Cohler, Antonio Saiote from Portugal and Tim Reynish from the UK.

General Director: Valdemar Rodríguez
Founding Director: Jesús Ignacio Pérez Perazzo
Principal Conductor: Sergio Rosales
Coordination: Geraldine Borges

Address: Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music. Callejón Sanabria con Av. El Ejército, No. 5-03, El Paraíso, Caracas, Venezuela. Zip code 1020.
Telephones: (58212) 4813382 - (414) 9272164
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