One of Latin America’s greatest orchestras brings its young ensemble of players aged 18–25 to the Festival, joined by conductors Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela's residency at the 2023 International Festival is part of our A perspective that's not one's own theme.

The orchestra was founded by José Antonio Abreu and a group of fellow musicians, who were inspired by the ideals of Simón Bolívar. The orchestra is comprised of over 200 young musicians between the ages of 18 and 28, and is a key part of the Fundación Musical 'Simón Bolívar', an organisation which provides music education to Venezuelan students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The foundation currently involves 400,000 students with over 1,550 musical ensembles over 286 academic centres.

The orchestra allows the young musicians to bring new perspectives to works in the classical music canon, as well as opportunities to collaborate with world-leading soloists and conductors.

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela Residency is supported by James and Morag Anderson.