220 women competed for the title, but only 12 were selected. Glass Marcano, a San Felipe native, was one of them
Gladysmarli Vadel, or Glass Marcano as she introduces herself, had never left Venezuela. She also had no plans to migrate. But her dream of becoming the best orchestra conductor pushed her to accelerate her departure from the country.
When she finally sat on the seat of the plane that would take her from Maiquetía to Paris, she read a note that she had been keeping in her pocket. It was a letter from her mother.
She tightly held the letter, as if the contact with the paper surface gave her encouragement and energy. Her mother had made her promise that she would read the note once onboard the plane to France. Glass breathed, gave it a thought, and unfolded the paper to read the message.
As she scanned her mother’s calligraphy, her mother’s voice echoed in her mind like a note of classical music. The message read: “Whatever happens, you are the winner, enjoy the moment and the opportunity.”
Glass Marcano traveled to France to participate in the First International Competition for Women Conductors, known as “La Maestra”, in Paris. An exclusive contest for female directors from all over the world to show their talents.
According to figures shared by the study “Where are women in the symphony?”, Only 4% of all conductors in Europe are women. The organizers of «La Maestra» consider the event “a contest that seeks to reserve a space for women to give them the visibility that they do not have in cultural institutions, encourage the vocation of young students, and encourage programmers to take into account the diversity of the society”.
220 women from around the world auditioned to compete for the title of the contest, but only 12 were selected. Glass Marcano, a 24-year-old from San Felipe, was one of the chosen.
Her talent shone in the city of lights. Although she did not win first place, she did win the prize awarded by the orchestra, the most important for her.
“I’m very, very happy, I just received the orchestra award, which I think is the best award. Very very happy (…) I will do my best next time. I wanted to win, but hey, the competition was fierce. I’m surprised by the orchestra’s award”, she expressed in a video on her Instagram account.
Music to tame her character
Whoever hears Glass’s voice can get an idea of what her character is like. Different intonations coexist harmoniously in her speech as if it were a constant symphony: her words convey tranquility, and each phrase is impregnated with confidence and strength that denote that she knows what she says and does.
This confidence was achieved after more than 15 years of constant study and musical work. She confesses that her parents enrolled her in music classes from the age of four to improve her behavior.
Her parents’ decision helped Glass to tame her character and forge a harmonious discipline that now resonates in the way she communicates with others: in her words and her gestures.
“I had a very strong demeanor. I behaved very badly, so the idea was that music could calm my behavior”, she shares with laughter in an interview with Venezuela Migrante.
She began her musical career in the state of Yaracuy at the age of four in El Sistema de Orquesta Venezolano (Venezuela’s National System of Orchestras). Initially, her favorite instrument was the violin, but at 17 she realized that her passion was conducting, thanks to a gesture made by one of the conductors to the group playing the trumpets.
Over time, Glass dedicated herself to studying the best techniques to be an orchestra conductor in the Yaracuy selection of Young Musicians. At the same time, she combined her musical passion with her studies in Law school, a condition that her mother set for her to continue with her musical passion.
An unexpected direction
Arriving in Paris to participate in the contest that transformed her life was the work of destiny. Days before, she was at her family’s fruit shop in Yaracuy, where she was raising the 150 euros to pay for the contest.
She traveled along with other passengers, thanks to a humanitarian flight. Besides destiny, the French embassy in Venezuela, her teachers, and some organizations contributed so that she could arrive in Paris and compete.
Providence and the trust of others conspired to allow the world to appreciate Glass Marcano’s abilities in “La Maestra.”
“I spent two days without sleeping. I had never left Venezuela and I was able to get to Paris to participate in the contest, ”she explains.
Taking part in the first International Competition for Women Conductors made it clear to her that the professional life of musicians is very different from what she was used to in Venezuela. The experience allowed her to approach music in other ways. She also shares that the quality of Venezuelan musicians is well known in France thanks to the international fame of El Sistema de Orquestas, founded by Maestro José Antonio Abreu. Also, she affirms that French people “like the Caribbean energy” of the musicians.
Conducting musical orchestras beyond her native land allowed Glass to understand that, despite the differences in preparation, music continues to bring people together.
“The speed with which you have to assemble a repertoire is one of the biggest challenges. In Venezuela, you may have a little more time to plan a concert with an orchestra. Here, you are given a day or two to program a repertoire and face the orchestra. I have seen that the same conductor can conduct a symphonic concert here and an opera rehearsal later in the afternoon. You need a great intellectual capacity to take on a challenge of this magnitude ”, she reflects.
After participating in the international contest, the Yaracuy native changed her priorities and settled in France to improve her musical talent. The recognition she obtained earned her a scholarship to consolidate her knowledge at the Regional Conservatory of Paris. Also, she will go on a tour with the Mozart Orchestra of Paris.
However, the most important award will be in September 2021. Next year, Glass will conduct accompanied by Maestra Gibault at the Philharmonie.
An atypical migration
“The main reason was not that I decided to leave Venezuela. I came to participate in an orchestral conducting contest and thank God a few good things happened to me, but I had not decided to leave Venezuela (…) I am in Paris now, I had not planned to come. Was I planning to leave Venezuela? Yes. But I was not thinking of France exactly. Fate brought me to Paris”, she assures.
Glass Marcano emphasizes that she never planned to migrate this year. She did have the idea in her head, but she hadn’t planned on doing it. Her participation and performance in the French competition opened the doors to professional opportunities that paved the way for a career away from her country.
For her, the most pleasant experience of the whole journey is having won the prize of the Orchestra at the “La Maestra” competition in Paris.
And, reflecting on how she feels about her migration process, she compares it to Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. A musical piece that mixes in each note the emotions that a migrant experiences: anxiety, anguish, euphoria, joy, tranquility, and hope.
“I think this is what my stay in Paris has been like: a powerful moment in the contest; a smooth, calm moment after the joy of winning, and now I am experiencing something rhythmic and exciting: the few activities in which I have participated after the contest”.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
