Pathrycia Mendonça is no stranger to demanding schedules, rendering jet lag a non-issue.
The 26-year-old violinist recently arrived in London, where she is set to perform for ten nights at Wembley Stadium with Coldplay, as part of Venezuela’s acclaimed Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.
Despite the 12-hour flight and leaving her 10-month-old daughter with her mother, the musician arrived at the iconic Air Studios in North London for rehearsals with palpable energy.
Her resilience likely stems from her experiences as a 12-year-old in Venezuela, enduring lengthy overnight bus journeys to attend lessons in Caracas.
“I am from Barquisimeto, a small town eight hours away by bus due to the slow pace,” she explained.
“When I started my classes, I would leave Barquisimeto at midnight to arrive in Caracas by dawn.”
“After classes, I’d return to my city with my mother, who always accompanied me because I was a child. This routine continued weekly.”
“For me, that was the key to being part of the orchestra here, now.”
In essence, sleep deprivation holds little sway over her.
Speaking with Mendonça, one might be humbled by her accomplishments. Beyond her role in the world-renowned orchestra, she is a violin teacher, a mother, a chef, and a recent graduate with a Master’s degree in music.
She expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming three weeks.
“I don’t know if I can say this, but I’m a crazy fan of Coldplay, so when they said, ‘Do you want to come and play?’ I was like, ‘No way!'” she laughed, somewhat bashfully.
“Whenever I listen to the band at home, I always dreamt about playing Viva La Vida. It’s so iconic, and it has strings all the way through. So this is a dream that came true. Totally a dream.”
Mendonça, like her fellow musicians in the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, is a product of Venezuela’s El Sistema program, which offers free music education across the country.
Established in 1975 by the visionary musician José Antonio Abreu, El Sistema was conceived as an antidote to the crime and poverty prevalent in the nation.
Despite Venezuela’s significant oil wealth, these issues persist. However, El Sistema (“the system”) has secured a place on the global stage for Venezuelan musicians.
For the players, it’s about more than just learning an instrument.
“El Sistema teaches you about the discipline of the community,” said Humberto Jiminez, another violinist who undertook weekly six-hour journeys to Caracas for his studies.
“You have to learn when to be part of the team, and when to be a leader – and how to integrate all those differences into one intention.”
“It gave me everything,” added Mendonça. “My whole life, I think. It gives me motivation.”
El Sistema’s most celebrated alumnus is Gustavo Dudamel, a seven-time Grammy winner lauded as “the happiest conductor in America” and “the closest thing to a rock star” in the classical music realm.
The 44-year-old currently serves as the musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and artistic director of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. Next year, he will become the first Latin American to lead the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States.
For the next three weeks, he will also be in London, invited by Chris Martin to commence each night of Coldplay’s record-breaking residency at Wembley Stadium.
“Chris is very into social action through music,” said Dudamel. “When he plays music, his will is to help, to heal and to transform – and that connects with our values.
“I think he wanted to give something to the orchestra. A gift, a very generous gift, of having all of us together, celebrating the power of music.”
Martin and Dudamel first met in 2007, following the Simón Bolívar Orchestra’s BBC Proms debut performing Mambo from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.
Their performance, a blend of technical prowess and exuberant joy, featuring spinning double basses, twirling trumpets, and clattering cowbells, all while adorned in Venezuelan-flag jackets, was a sensation.
Shortly after, Martin invited Dudamel to participate in Coldplay’s 2016 Super Bowl half-time show, solidifying their friendship. (Martin’s mother, also a fan, is a frequent attendee at Dudamel’s rehearsals).
This partnership aligns seamlessly with Dudamel’s ambition to push the boundaries of classical music.
Earlier this year, he brought the LA Philharmonic to the Coachella Music Festival, performing Wagner and Beethoven in a 50-minute set that featured guest appearances from Dave Grohl, Cynthia Erivo, and LL Cool J.
“You think, ‘Maybe this is something crazy’, but it was the most natural thing,” he said, recalling the audience’s enthusiastic chanting of the opening “da-da-da-dum” of Beethoven’s 5th, reminiscent of the riff from Seven Nation Army.
“We live in a world of walls and borders – and that happens with music, too,” said Dudamel. “But it’s been one of my goals to break that down.
“I think young people are hungry for culture and for us, in the orchestra, [Coachella] was a historical moment of embracing another audience and that audience connecting with what we do.”
He hopes the Wembley shows – where the orchestra will perform Beethoven’s 5th, John Williams’ Star Wars theme, and Vivaldi’s Spring – will have a similar effect.
“I want the audience to walk away embraced by love,” he said.
“It’s not naïve to say we’re living in a crisis of empathy. Music is not about that. Music is about making harmony together. It’s the best example of how to behave as a community.”
The conductor’s optimism is contagious. As he leads the orchestra in rehearsals at London’s Air Studios, their enthusiasm is palpable, indicative of the importance of El Sistema, as it approaches its 50th anniversary.
This milestone will be marked with a mini-residency at London’s Barbican and the release of a new album, titled Odyssey, blending Latin American traditions with orchestral music.
However, the organization has faced criticism, with some accusing it of political alignment due to its affiliation with the office of President Nicolás Maduro, who has been accused of suppressing opposition groups and dissenting voices, sometimes through violence.
Dudamel has criticized Maduro, calling for an end to “bloodshed” after an 18-year-old musician was killed at a protest in Caracas. Nevertheless, some have urged him to sever ties, asserting that his ongoing involvement with El Sistema renders him the president’s “puppet and henchman.”
However, the conductor maintains that his priority lies with the children whose lives are transformed by the program.
“In the super-politicised world that we live in right now, you have to say, you have to do, you have be against.”
“It’s difficult because everybody is screaming – but we need more of these programmes that motivate you to find the best of people.”
“For me, the most important thing is that this new generation has the opportunities that I had.”
Over the past five decades, more than three million children have participated in El Sistema, with the program replicated in numerous countries worldwide.
In the coming three weeks, nearly one million individuals will witness the fruits of this initiative on stage at Wembley.
“It’s the biggest number of people that I ever played. It’s a lot,” Mendonça remarked.
“It’s a way to represent my country and, in my particular case, it’s a way to give hope to all the children I’ve had the opportunity to teach.
“Sometimes, when you’re growing up, you don’t know why you are doing the things you do… But when you see someone close to you doing something like this, you say, ‘If she can, why can’t I?'”
The event is held on 22, 23, 24 and 25 August at the West Mid Showground.
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