(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- The APEX Ensemble has announced the appointment of Diego Garcia as its first Youth Program Director. Originally from Colombia, he began his musical training as a cellist under Batuta, an el sistema like program. Garcia currently serves on the faculty for Mannes Prep in New York City; Summer Arts with Juilliard in Geneva, Switzerland; the Dwight–Englewood School; and the JCC Thurnauer School of Music.
The APEX Youth Program will offer high level orchestral experience to music students throughout northern New Jersey and beyond. The program will prepare the next generation of diverse young musicians through traditional orchestral preparation blended with progressive repertoire.
“I am excited to be joining APEX, using the power of music to spark a passion for excellence, intellectual development, and personal growth,” says Garcia. “Through this program, I seek to foster expression at the highest level, nurturing young performers in a challenging and supportive environment, where they can create personal and musical bonds that will evolve and develop lasting relationships through their lives.”
APEX Youth Programs are scheduled to commence in Fall 2022, beginning with a senior orchestra for grades 9-12. Auditions are planned for May 2022. Additional information can be found online at www.apexensemble.org.
APEX Ensemble (The Montclair Orchestra) was founded in 2016 as an unprecedented learning environment for top music conservatory students, with training and performance alongside professional mentors from some of the world’s leading orchestras. The flagship Fellowship Orchestra is led by Music Director David Chan, who also serves as Concertmaster of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and has won accolades for its “pinpoint coordination, mature musical insight, and irresistible esprit that would be the envy of many a big-city symphony” (New York Classical Review).
