Biography

Josbel Puche

Teacher, director of children's orchestras and author of the Paper Orchestra Project

Josbel Puche

Teacher, director of children's orchestras and author of the Paper Orchestra Project

Josbel Puche has created what critics call “the basis to have prominent youth and children orchestras in the future” in musical schools around the world. The Paper Orchestra, the orchestral initiation teaching method designed by this Venezuelan violinist in 2005, aims at stimulating children between 2 and 6 years through collective music practice, orchestral discipline and psychomotor development, all of which are necessary to play an instrument and approach its different sonorities.

This method is performed through fun activities, according to the age of the children. It begins with musical stimulation, continues with the rhythm band, the paper orchestra, and finally with the transition from the paper instrument to a real one. The real-size violins, violas, cellos and double basses used by the children in the paper orchestra are made with cardboard and paper mache technique.

While playing their instruments, which make no sound, children sing a series of works specially composed and arranged by Josbel Puche. These songs explain to them the technique; develop their rhythmic, melodic, harmonic sense and their emotional intelligence by respecting and listening to one another. The children who are part of the Paper Orchestra understand what they should do within an orchestra when they join an ensemble with real instruments: the position in the orchestra, technical language, gestural communication, attention to the conductor, stage presence; in addition, the children develop the natural posture of the instrument.

Josbel Puche has personally taught her method to teachers from Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, Chile, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Children’s musical education experts say, “This technique is internationally recognized and has been replicated in several countries around the world.”

Graduated from the prestigious educational program known as El Sistema, Josbel begins her music studies as a violinist at the age of 8, studying at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music.

Josbel served as the director of the Orchestral Initiation Program at the Children´s academic center of the Montalbán and La Rinconada nucleos, both from El Sistema, where she created the Paper Orchestra. She teaches Arts and Music, graduated from the Pedagogical Institute of Caracas, in Venezuela. She makes a Master’s Degree in Education Management at the Bicentennial University of Aragua, in Venezuela. She is currently Manager of the Musical Initiation Program at El Sistema Venezuela and teacher of the Academic Training Program for Young Musicians, Conductors and Composers of the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation.

She has made numerous courses, workshops and teacher training courses such as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Orff Method, Kodaly Method, Martenot and music therapy for pre-scholar children.

Josbel has a Diploma in Infant Psychomotricity, Educative and Re-educative, from Universidad Monteávila (Venezuela) and an International Diploma in Music and Movement from the University of Carabobo (Venezuela). In addition, she is a member and trainer of the Venezuelan Association of Infant Massage and Massage in School, endorsed by the International Association of Infant Massage. She is a certified Educator in Positive Discipline by the Positive Discipline Association.

In 2017 and 2018 she leads the Orchestral Initiation course within the International Teaching Training Seminar of El Sistema Academy that has been held in Stockholm, Sweden. She also participates in the Congress of Musical Pedagogy held at the University of BamberG, Germany, and is part of the Take a Stand symposium organized by the Los Angeles Philharmonic along with Longy School of Music of Bard College, as part of The Mahler Project.

She has personally advised the programs that implemented the Paper Orchestra: in Chile, the Orquesta Para Todos Program (Patagonia) and the Youth and Children’s Orchestras Foundation of Chile; In Puerto Rico, the Music100x35 Program of the Sistema de Orquestas y Coros Juveniles e Infantiles de Puerto Rico; In Portugal, with the Associação das Orquestras Sinfónicas Juvenis, from El Sistema Portugal; In Sweden, with El Sistema Sweden; In Ecuador, the Fundación Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil del Ecuador (FOSJE); and in Panama, the Orquesta Para Todos Program of the Red Nacional de Orquestas y Coros Infantiles y Juveniles de Panama, and the National Institute of Culture (INAC), where she conducted directed a concert at the Teatro Anita Villalaz. In addition, she has been part of the “Orchestral Training Workshop” missions of the “Music to Growth” program, an initiative of the Development Bank of Latin America – CAF.

For 20 years, Josbel has been part of the violin section of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Symphony Orchestra, in Venezuela, under the baton of maestros Rodolfo Saglimbeni and Rafael Jiménez. She has participated in more than 15 recordings of different genres. In 2017 Josbel Puche assumed commitments in several countries, including Chile and Portugal.

Graduated from the prestigious educational program known as El Sistema, Josbel begins her music studies as a violinist at the age of 8, studying at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory of Music.

She has made numerous courses, workshops and teacher training courses such as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Orff Method, Kodaly Method, Martenot and music therapy for pre-scholar children.