The 14 orchestras and 8 choirs of the sociomusical project Orchestrated Neighborhoods resist the financial crisis that threatened their disappearance, and will continue their activities for another year while waiting to secure a specific line of multi-year funding in the regional budgets of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The project, which has been providing musical training through a free, inclusive, and community-based model in peripheral neighborhoods of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote since 2012, has concluded the crowdfunding campaign with a total of 62,300 euros raised, which corresponds to the complete annual costs of the material and human resources necessary for the operation of one of the orchestras.
A public call made through their social media in April of this year alerted the citizens and institutions. The fall or decrease of some public-private aids, as well as the bureaucracy to receive granted subsidies, kept the staff of this project unpaid for months. The fundraising campaign titled The Symphony of the Canary Islands is Dimming has secured the firm commitment of public institutions, the business community, and citizen support, which fosters a secure future for the entity.
The annual budget of Orchestrated Neighborhoods to sustain its activities in the archipelago exceeds 1.2 million euros, and the project, declared of public utility, started 2025 with a deficit of 325,000 euros. In light of this situation, the Government of the Canary Islands has recently granted an extraordinary aid of 350,000 euros, currently in the processing phase.
The director of Orchestrated Neighborhoods, José Brito, has emphasized "the need for permanent support from public institutions and to seek new strategies for more stable multi-year funding that allow for the long-term consolidation of the project".
Last May, the Parliament of the Canary Islands unanimously approved a non-legislative proposal that supports the continuity and expansion of Orchestrated Neighborhoods. It urged the regional government to include "a specific line of multi-year funding" in the community's budgets. So far, entities such as the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and La Laguna have confirmed their unanimous support in a plenary session, while the commitment of other administrations is being finalized. The news reached the national legislative arena with the intervention of Noemí Santana, former counselor of Social Rights, Equality, Youth, and Diversity of the Government of the Canary Islands and currently a member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.
The business community has shown its support from various fronts, whether through traditional donations or in-kind donations. The total fundraising from the XII Sonora Festival Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was directed for the first time to a social cause, this time for Orchestrated Neighborhoods. It has also received direct support from Caixabank, Fundación Disa, AMFM Vending, Agua de Firgas, Fundación Jungüel Sanjuan SATOCAN, Lions Club, Rotary Club Telde International, Tirma S.A., Catalina Plaza Sustainable Hotel, ICSE, and Fundación Cajasiete. The company ESEEME produced the uniforms for the child musicians, sound technician Alejandro Doreste has provided his services at the summer tour concerts, and the collective Desenfoque participated with the editing of videos for social media.
Artists and various personalities from the world of culture, music, theater, sciences, etc., have shown their support on social media: singer Ana Guerra, Iván Torres from Efecto Pasillo, singer-songwriter Aristides Moreno, as well as influencer Javier Santaolalla, comedians Aarón Gómez and Delia Santana, or the current member of the Academy Awards and Tenerife composer, Diego Navarro, among others.
Orchestrated Neighborhoods performs in the archipelago, as well as reaching theaters and auditoriums in France and Switzerland. So far, more than 30,000 people have benefited, according to the organization's estimates. The initiative has been praised with a visit from the Kings and distinguished by the Order of Civil Merit of the Spanish Royal House (2019), has received the Canary Music Awards 2022 for its work, and the distinction of Good Practices from UNICEF Spanish Committee (2014).
This project of Canarian identity continues its journey and hopes to announce two charity concerts to open new funding avenues. So far, they are confirmed for after the summer at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Gran Canaria and another at the Fuerteventura Fair and Congress Palace with artists and groups of the caliber of Los Gofiones, Efecto Pasillo, Aristides Moreno, Fajardo, and Domingo "El Colorao". The continuity of Orchestrated Neighborhoods is currently assured, and now the voices of the Canarian cultural scene join in this unusual symphony.
