MIAMI MUSIC PROJECT

sallida | 26. November 2014 | Events

Miami Music Project

On December 12, 2014, at 7:00 pm the Miami Music Project Children’s Orchestra will perform at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center of the Florida International University under the baton of Maestros Abiram Brizuela, Liber Cuervos and Martin Mayo, a talented member of the Miami Music Project Children’s Orchestra that will debut as conductor.

The program includes pieces by Handel, Bach, Mozart, and Rossini; the event is free of charge and brings an outstanding opportunity to witness the remarkable talent of Miami’s Youth.

Miami Music Project is an El Sistema inspired program that uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to acquire values and achieve their full potential, positively affecting their society through the study and performance of music.

The program was founded by Maestro James Judd in 2009 and is currently serving children at four different locations including Liberty City, Little Haiti, Little Havana, and Doral, in which over 400 students receive free music education in an environment that promotes impactful social development.

Abiram Brizuela, an El Sistema Alumnus, is the Director of Programming of the institution and as stated by Miami Classic, one of the young leaders in Miami’s Classical Music Scene.

El Sistema

El Sistema is a tested model of how a music program can both create great musicians and dramatically change the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of the nation’s neediest kids. Within El Sistema, the Orchestra serves as a miniature representation of the community, where many people work together with established roles and levels of responsibility to achieve a common goal. El Sistema’s approach to music education emphasizes intensive ensemble participation from the earliest stages, group and individual learning, peer teaching and a commitment to social development through excellence in music education.

El Sistema was founded in Venezuela by José Antonio Abreu over 35 years ago to serve the population of children in need of music education. Abreu wanted a way to give access to elite classical training to all who wanted, especially those of low socioeconomic status.

El Sistema is, therefore, an untraditional music education model that works! Even great musicians, like Gustavo Dudamel, have been trained through El Sistema. But the best part is that the focus of El Sistema is on the whole individual, not just on building virtuosity in music so that the life of a child can be enriched.

The Five Fundamental Principles of El Sistema

Social Change: The primary objective is social transformation through the pursuit of musical excellence. One happens through the other, and neither is prioritized at the expense of the other.

Ensembles: the focus of El Sistema is the orchestra or choral experience.

Frequency: El Sistema ensembles meet multiple times every week over extended periods.

Accessibility: El Sistema programs are free, and are not selective in admission.

Connectivity: Every núcleo (chapter) is linked at the urban, regional and national levels, forming a cohesive network of services and opportunities for students across the country.

The great news is that El Sistema is in action right here in our city! Miami Music Project Children’s Orchestra is an El Sistema – modeled free after school music program. It is the best resource for children and youth to gain an excellent music education.

After I had the opportunity to study in a Musical school and be part of the Youth Orchestra of the Emil Friedman School, I found this project extremely necessary for the support and development of young kids around the world, not everybody has the opportunity or the resources to be part of an Orchestra, but what the system offer to this kid is a life-changing opportunity, where all the problems and all difficulties this kid might be facing because are forgotten as soon as they take in their hands a musical instrument.

Professor Emil Friedman always said there is no culture without Musical Culture, and he could not be more right, today the musical instruments are not reserved for a few groups of people but to all the kids who want to be part of this beautiful system.

Today is about one thousand Sistema-inspired program sites in nearly 55 countries, including all continents except Antarctica.

LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN – IL PELLICANO HOTEL

sallida | 26. November 2014 | Travel

Il Pellicano Hotel Porto Ercole

We like to discover new places and new hotels, and today we bring to you all you need to know about Il Pellicano Hotel in Tuscany Italy. If you are planning your next trip and you are looking for a romantic getaway or you are planning your honeymoon, Il Pellicano Hotel is the place to go.

Opened on the 2nd of June 1965, IL PELLICANO was built to commemorate the love of British ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) aviator Michael Graham, with American jet setter, Patsy Daszel, who choose this impervious spot on the Argentario peninsula to build a secluded resort reminiscent of Pelican Point, the Californian promontory where they had first met years before. Michael Graham was the only survivor of a plane crash in Africa in the mid-1950s.

The news, widely reported by the European and American press, shocked American socialite Patsy Daszel, and she cut out the article and pasted it in her diary, hoping someday to meet that brave and lucky British soldier. Like a fairy tale, her wish came true, and it was love at first sight.

After many travels around the world, a common friend, Prince Tinti Borghese, introduced them to a stretch of cliffs overlooking the sea in the midst of the magnificent nature of Monte Argentario. The rugged cliffs and wild nature of this unexplored bay offered the perfect background for their love and the ideal location in which to establish a select club for their guests such as Charlie Chaplin, Henry Fonda, Gianni Agnelli, Slim Aarons, and all the European Royalty.

The New Owner

A regular guest of the Graham’s, and also a friend, was Roberto Sciò, a charismatic Italian businessman who loved the place so much that he ended up buying the property in 1979. IL PELLICANO was home to the Grahams and is still home to Mr. Sciò and his guests and now, nearly fifty years after its foundation, IL PELLICANO is a world-famous hotel, more with the flair of a private home.

This is the hotel to fall in love with is turning 50 years in 2015, and celebrating they have a really special celebration package from June 5th to 7th, 2015. The landscaping and the property of the hotel are just perfect.

This little piece of heaven has only 50 rooms, and all the rooms are stunning, with a great view of the sea. The landscaping and the property of the hotel are just perfect, with a beautiful beach and crystal clear water.

Restaurants

Il Pellicano hotel has two restaurants, The Michelin star for dinner, and the Pelligrill for lunch or dinner, the selection of wines, is just spectacular and the service is really particular, because the staff is well training and engaging but never intrusive, and they ensure, that all your needs are met.

There is no doubt that this hotel is the perfect destination for a romantic weekend with your significant other, where you can really relax with so many body treatments from the wellness area, that you will want to freeze the time and never leave.

The Spa

All the treatments at the Pelliclub Health & the Beauty Centre in Tuscany use products from Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella of Florence, known worldwide for its health and beauty products. Santa Maria Novella creations use floral and plant extracts, essential oils, and natural active ingredients. But Pelliclub Health & Beauty goes even further by ensuring that all wellness and beauty rituals made entirely by hand.

Choose from the Detox, Revitalizing or Relaxation programs, and for two hours you will be pampered and massaged with effleurage and acupressure using oils and floral and plant extracts, cane sugar and orange blossom honey, plus salt and aromatic vinegar, and manual massage.

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella was founded 400 years ago as a laboratory by Dominican monks who used the medicinal herbs cultivated in their own gardens to prepare medications, unguents, and ointments for use in the monastery’s infirmary.

Florentine lords soon learned about the quality and effectiveness of the monks’ products and began buying them to treat themselves. This is how the therapeutic remedies and perfumes for noblemen using citrus essences and flowers came to be discovered by the public. After four centuries, L’Officina di Santa Maria Novella has become an actual cosmetic industry, but one that has retained its artisanal soul.

Pelliclub Health & Beauty uses strictly natural thermal clays, aromatic herbs and floral and plant essences for treatments that are performed by our staff who have been trained in the methods used by Officina di Santa Maria Novella. Entirely by hand, without the use of any machines.

You can also discover the little beaches along the coast and the wonderful bays of Monte Argentario spending a couple of hours or a half-day departing directly from Pellicano’s beach.

On the wild and un-spoilt west coast of Monte Argentario, the beaches are much smaller and harder to get to, making them relatively un-crowded even in the high season of July and August. In fact, these beaches can only be accessed by boat.

If you are looking for a romantic getaway or, Il Pellicano is your answer…

GAP AUSTRIA – PREMIER HOLIDAY COLLECTION VIENNA

sallida | 14. November 2014 | Events

GAP Austria Collection

After 45 years, finally, we can find a Gap store in Vienna. Since 1969 Donald G. Fisher and his wife, Doris F. Opened the first Gap store, just because Mr. Donald could not find a pair of jeans that can fit him. Today Gap is a leading international specialty retailer with six brands – Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta and INTERMIX – almost 3,600 stores and approximately 140,000 employees.

While many things have changed since 1969, the principles on which Gap was founded have stayed the same: creativity, delivering results, doing what’s right and always thinking of our customers first.

After the launch of the Holiday collection in America, is Austria the first market in Europe who was allowed to present this collection. Today Lemontrend was invited to a closer look at the new holiday collection 2014. I identify myself with the gap woman, which is free, individually and secure of herself, and I must say I am extremely happy to have the Gap store now so close.

This collection is perfect, for this cold season because you have so many different jackets and coats, together with the extra cozy sweaters and of course the classic T-shirts which identify the brand. Together with the extra comfortable jogger pants, the biker jackets, and of course the beloved jeans. You really cannot go wrong with this brand, because starting with the fit of the pants, to the suit collection, perfect for the office, make of Gap a super versatile brand, and the perfect place to find a piece of clothes that is designed for you.

This collection is dedicated to all those people who are authentic and strong, and despite the fact that we live in a chaotic time, full of stress we can still be ourselves.

The fall campaign marks the first creative execution of Dress Normal which begins its story with a classic Gap item and one of the coming season’s biggest trends – black denim – and season after season the narrative will shift to other iconic Gap staples.

With the motto: ‘‘you don’t have to get them to give them Gap’’, the brand wants to express the real life, and the real people making fashion for authentic persons, who know what they want.

The commercial for this season was even directed by Sofia Coppola, well know by Lost in translation, The Virgins Suicides, Marie Antoinette, among others, and of course, the result is a charming commercial.

Of course to be in the store, and be one of the first persons to have the opportunity to see the entire new collection, was an incredible experience, and of course to understand what was behind the design, and the materials they used.

STEVIEROY FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

sallida | 10. November 2014 | Photographers

Fashion Photographer Stevieroy

Stevieroy is a successful Fashion and advertising photographer; his clients include Addidas, All American Vintage, BBC Leeds, Dunlop Heywood and many more. His studios in Leeds and London, offer the very best in digital capture and lighting, for both studio shoots and location shoots nationally and internationally, working with a team of professional stylists, makeup artists, and hairstylists to cover all the photographic requirements.

We had the opportunity to speak with him and discover how this story started, and who he is as a photographer.

When did you first get interested in photography? What sparked it, and when did you decide that it was what you were going to do?

I always remember having a camera in my teens, but never really sure how to work it, it had always been of interest to me as I spent a lot of years in men's fashion and looking at great imagery in FHM, GQ, and Esquire but it wasn’t until a long time after this that it became my profession, strangely it started with furniture! I used to have customers contact me to ask how I captured accurate color and detail? This led to shooting products for other companies and moved into fashion and beauty photography around 2002, this was the moment I realized it was all worth getting out of bed for, if you’re really passionate about what you do, it doesn’t feel like work!

Were you educated in photography, or are you self taught?

I’m a totally self-taught photographer.

What camera do you use the majority of the time?

Do I shoot with two different cameras, primarily for my fashion work I use a Phase One medium format digital camera with different digital backs depending on what the client needs? The detail captured by a large sensor allows images to be printed in huge sizes for billboards and banners on buildings, incredible stuff! My other camera is a Canon 1Ds Mark 3 which is a super-fast full-frame 35mm, a little easier to handle than Phase One and would shoot PR and fashion events on the Canon! My answer would be Phase One

You mostly focus on fashion photography. Once you’ve mastered this, are there any other types of photography you’re looking to move into?

I don’t think I’ll ever stop shooting fashion, every shoot is different, always more to learn, I’m my own worst critic, I want to be better and better all the time! I do however like to shoot Cityscapes, I’ve spent a lot of time in New York and have a lot of images of the City, some have been bought by bars and restaurants in large format for their walls and entrance receptions, I’d definitely like to do more of this in my spare time!

Which photo are you currently most proud of?

I like a lot of my work, there are so many reasons why and the image comes out the way it does, connection with the subject, timing, direction, they all mean a lot of different ways.

Comparing where you are now with where you are when you first started, what could you have done differently to get to where you are sooner?

I’ve really enjoyed the journey to get where I am now and think time is what makes it a reality, I’ve taught many photographers in the past and within a couple of years they’ve given up, I always stress to people looking to go into the industry that it’s hard and super competitive, be prepared to get a lot of rejection, It’s not an overnight industry, patience and time to develop your own style is paramount!

You’ve clearly worked with a wide range of models, what tips can you recommend to people looking to expand their portfolio?

If I have downtime in my schedule, I’ll call the agencies and ask them to send me models that I can test shoot with, this is an excellent way to try new techniques and be creative with lighting in the studio and on location, my advice would be test, test and test some more, keep shooting!

Describe a typical shoot.

I think the beauty of a shoot is that it’s never typical! There’s the usual organization, of your team, assistants, transport, hair, make-up, and styling should you provide this to the client, this would be the typical part of any shoot, the rest, well, this is where the fun begins!

How much time do you spend taking photos, versus retouching photos?

I don’t do much retouching on my images; I spend more time on the lighting to create the result! Apart from removing spots, blemishes, the usual issues, but most of my work is straight out of the camera.

Favorite accessory?

I have a lot of accessories, but one of my favorites is a small reflector panel called a Sun-mover by California Sunbounce in Germany, it’s a great product that I use in the studio and on location.

Who would you like to work with most?

I’d like to work with a few models, for fashion I’d like to shoot Natasha Poly and Cara Delavigne, and for swimwear and lingerie Miranda Kerr and Michaela Kocianova.

Favorite photography book?

I don’t have a favorite book, is it bad that I don't read much; I do like my books on Albert Watson and Guy Bourdin though!

If you want to know more about Stevieroy, please visit his Website

WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE

sallida | 8. November 2014 | Models

Miss Universe first finalist Veruzhka Ramirez

The Venezuelan beauty has excelled in the Fashion World, she was not born in a golden crib as a child, Veruzhka Ramirez has achieved all the success, with her effort and dedication, without being stopped, by any obstacle.

When she was a child, she experienced firsthand the extreme poverty and hunger, was abandoned by her mother when she was only nine years. Thanks for the support and kindness of one of her neighbors, this great woman began to give her first steps to confront the enormous obstacles the life would depart her. Doing domestic work and all those things Veruzhka could manage, she never lost the sight of her real gold to be a successful woman. By her humble origins, she had to fight against adversities and the discrimination of others, nobody could believe that this simple and ordinary woman could become one of the most beautiful women in the country and the first finalist of the Miss Universe 1998.

For me, Veruzhka is the clear example, dreams can come true, despite the adversities you can find on the way, and of course, we could not miss the opportunity to make her an interview, so she can tell us her story.

When did you decide to be a model?

I did not decide to be a model, the opportunity came up, and I took the chance.

How did your life change with your participation in the Miss Universe?

My chance starts when I became Miss Venezuela, and I pass from being a cleaning girl to the most beautiful woman in my country. When I represented Venezuela at the Miss Universe, there started my great adventure in the Fashion world.

Who has been a role model for your life?

My models are all those persons who have overcome difficulties in life. No matter where you come from, as long as you fight for what you want.

Was it difficult to enter the Fashion world?

Coming from a humble origin, as the society is classist and elitist, they tend to value yourself with what you are wearing instead of who you are as a person.

What inspires you in the Model World?

In my case is the versatility of design, the creativity of the photographic world and the opportunity to travel and have experience with other cultures.

Which was the most exciting project you've worked on?

I don’t have one in particular because all marked an important moment in my life, great brands, great designers where I never thought I would reach such a high level, but at the same, I discovered myself as a talent and shine.

Who are your favorite designers to work with?

Hannibal Laguna, Valentino, Cavalli, and the Venezuelan and my late friend Justo Gómez, Ángel Sánchez and Gionni Straccia.

In what project are you working on right now?

The best project in the world, to be a mother.

What is your next project?

After giving birth, to continue with my Road to Success Conference, my image consultancy and different beauty contests.

Have you fulfilled your dreams?

All the goals that I have outlined are met, thanks to God, with faith and optimism