A Message for the KCOHO 

From Yhovani Duarte

I have had the pleasure, or better to say the double pleasure, of being a guest conductor of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. KCOHO is not an orchestra, it is a family that meets formally to make music together. My first time was in 2011 and it was wonderful, coming back in 2018 was like coming home and finding your old friends. There you will not only find excellent and professional musicians, but also great human beings committed to society and the community. Congratulations, successes, thank you for the moments lived and for making, through music, a better world.

With you I lived one of the most beautiful experiences at the beginning of my career, it was in 2011, and I was on tour with the National Ballet of Cuba, just without knowing me, some musicians asked me about the musicians of my orchestra in Havana, I told them about the difficulties in acquiring instruments and accessories. In just two days, the entire orchestra was organized, and they made a collection of instruments, parts and accessories to donate to Cuban musicians. Then, knowing that during the tour, I would later be in Los Angeles, they made a call to the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra to contribute to the donation. That show of solidarity and humanism marked my affection, respect, admiration and gratitude for the KCOHO musicians.

- Yhovani Duarte, Cuba Ballet