Edicson Ruiz Bioeng (born 11 May 1985 in
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
) is a Venezuelan
double-bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has ...
player. At age 17, Ruiz became the youngest member of the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922†...
, the second in the Philharmonic history after a harp player in the 19th century; he is also the first Hispanic-American musician to join the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ruiz started his musical career at age 11 when he joined the Venezuelan network of youth orchestras, known as ''
El Sistema
El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto " ...
''. In 2001, he was awarded the first prize in the youth solo competition at the
International Society of Bassists The International Society of Bassists (ISB) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization for anybody who enjoys the double bass. The society was founded in 1967 by Gary Karr
Gary Michael Karr (born November 20, 1941, in Los Angeles) is an American c ...
convention, held in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. After his first concert in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, he was offered a place in the Berlin Philharmonic, becoming a full member after one year of training.
References
External links
*
Berlin Philharmonic
1985 births
Living people
Musicians from Caracas
Players of the Berlin Philharmonic
Venezuelan classical musicians
21st-century double-bassists
Venezuelan double-bassists
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