In autumn 2015, violinist and orchestra leader Ron Davis Alvarez arrived in Sweden from Caracas, Venezuela as an exchange student. It was a shocking sight for him when arriving at Stockholm Central station he witnessed the arrival of a large group of underage unaccompanied refugees.
Ron himself grew up in poor circumstances and until that moment he had had a different image of Sweden than the one he came across with here.
After inquiring about the situation of these unaccompanied minors, he decided to find ways to help these young people, once he would have the opportunity to stay and work in Sweden. Then it happened. Ron, a musical talent raised in the Venezuelan El Sistema movement, was soon hired as artistic director of El Sistema in Sweden and thus stayed.
In April 2016, he fulfilled his promise to himself and started Dream Orchestra. An orchestra for everyone, but especially for those who needed it the most: the unaccompanied minors escaping from countries in conflict. In a refugee camp in Frillesås, a small village to the south of Gothenburg, he found his first students and here the dream started.
The news that there was an orchestra in Gothenburg that offered these young people a safe place to integrate into society and to start dreaming of a better future through music, spread like wildfire.
Today, Dream Orchestra has 184 members, 10 teachers and employed administrative staff. The activity is organized in association and works in close collaboration with the civic society, Bethlehem Church, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and Academy of Music and Drama at Gothenburg University.
Frontside Chamber Music Association has existed since 2019 and is largely driven by volunteer efforts, but we are highly dependent on additional financial sponsors and fundings. All contributions are used to engage fantastic musicians, rents of venues and all other things that make the festival a magical experience.
If you are interested in chamber music that goes beyond the ordinary, you should become a member! As a member, you are invited to the association’s annual meeting and participate in electing the board. You can also suggest activities for the association, thereby influencing future festivals and other events we organize. You also have the opportunity to volunteer during the festival, allowing you to enjoy wonderful chamber music without paying an entrance fee.
How do I become a member and support Frontside? Submit your information in the form below and pay the membership fee, and we will register you as a member immediately. Please also indicate which chamber music you love the most. Together with your personal information, this helps us better understand who our members are. How we handle your information can be read under the GDPR section.
You renew your membership every fall term – we’ll remind you! Alternatively, you can purchase a lifetime membership and thus become a permanent member with a one-time fee.
If you join as a new member in the spring, your payment also covers the following year’s membership.
How do I do it and what does it cost? You can pay the membership fee to Bankgiro 5318-7969 or via Swish 123 356 63 95. Always include your name and, if paying via bankgiro, your mobile number.
Welcome as a member!
For requests, feedback, and additional information, fill in your message in the form at the bottom or send an email to info@frontside-festival.se
The General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, came into force within the EU on May 25, 2018.
How does Frontside handle its membership register? In our membership register, we store your name, address details, email address, phone number, and birth year. If you leave the association, we will retain your information for a maximum of seven (7) years before deleting it.
Who has access to my information? We register your details digitally in our membership register. Only you (first party) and individuals with trusted roles in the association (second party) have access to your information. No information is shared with third parties.
You can request to see what information we have collected about you at any time.
Validity? By becoming a member of the association, you enter into an agreement regarding which information about you can be stored with us and who has access to this information, as described above. This agreement is valid indefinitely, as long as you are a member of the Frontside Chamber Music Association.
Do I have the right to have my information deleted? According to GDPR, you have the right to have your information deleted, but you will also lose your membership in the association. To request this, send an email to info@frontside-festival.se and ask for your stored information to be deleted.
