More than 20 years ago, Brazil’s “Orquestra Criança Cidadã” or Children’s Citizen Orchestra (OCC) started as a social program to rescue at-risk children and teenagers in Recife, Brazil, a city known for both its great wealth, but also its great poverty. In 2015, the project joined with more than 12,000 schools in 182 countries as part of the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet), sharing a commitment to change the lives of the children, and unite young people from countries where wars and diplomatic tensions have been common. The orchestra is currently on a tour across Asia and will conclude at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 8. A video of the orchestra playing Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, can be seen here.
On this 2025 tour the Brazilian musicians are joined by youth from countries engaged in years of conflicts and rivalries, including Russia and Ukraine; Israel and Palestine; and North and South Korea. Concerts will be given at sites with deep symbolic importance in the struggle for peace, such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan, and other sites that call for greater empathy among all peoples. José Targino, founder of the OCC, said, “Seeing young people from countries historically in conflict, sharing the same stage, playing side by side, is something that thrills deeply.” Much of the music comes from traditional music from conflict zones in order to promote understanding of potential rival cultures. The orchestra is also known for sneaking in a Brazilian samba or choro piece at the end.
Over the years the program in Recife, Brazil, has trained more than 700 youth in music, as well as more traditional fields of education. The program finds that often these students require food and medical care. Selections to join the orchestra tour are based on blind auditions to prevent favoritism. Their instructors insist that art can break down even the most difficult barriers.
