When sisters Marielisa and Mariesther Alvarez grew up in Venezuela, they were part of El Sistema, the National System for Youth Orchestras and Choirs. But when they came to Boston, they soon discovered a similar program was lacking.

“When we came to Boston to do our studies at the Boston Conservatory, we realized that even though it is a culturally rich city, there was the need for a program where creating musical excellence was a communal effort — a program that would accept any children no matter their backgrounds or musical abilities.”

They found no such program that would come into communities to engage children and families, creating a sense of “respect and belonging,” said Marielisa Alvarez.

So, they started their own program: the Boston String Academy.

Since its founding in 2012, the group’s Youth Ensemble of Boston-area high schoolers has performed in many venues, including twice in the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. They also performed at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on May 18 for the fourth time.

In the years since its founding, the BSA has expanded in scope, recognition, and success. Today, the program teaches 150 students, from young children to teenagers, in the Petite, Prejunior, Junior, and Youth Ensembles, and has locations in both Allston and Chinatown. Most of the students start out young, and progressively move up through the different ensembles as they grow older. All of BSA’s students go on to pursue higher education at institutions such as Harvard University, Boston Conservatory, MIT, New England Conservatory and Georgetown University.

BOW AND BRIDGE: Sisters Mariesther Alvarez and Marielisa Alvarez founders of the Boston String Academy, outside Saint Anthony Parish in Allston, with students and teachers of BSA, including conductor Jorge Soto, cellists Ana Ospina and Jose Quezada, violinist Raymar Cumare, violist Valentina Pulido and teaching assistants Carter Fogg and Camila Martinez. Photos by Adam Smith/ errorc1301.com

“It takes lots of effort to get there, daily work, persistence, resilience, not only from students and teachers but also from the families,” Mariesther Alvarez said.

But through BSA, students “develop values like discipline, commitment, team work, also finding a balance between the intellectual, emotional, and motor skills which will help them become better human beings and will help them succeed in anything they decide to do in life.”

BSA has received awards from major organizations, including the 2019 Commonwealth Awards given by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, El Planeta’s “One Hundred Powerful People of the Massachusetts Hispanic community” list and the Harvard-Allston Partnership. BSA has also participated in various music festivals and competitions, both in the U.S. and internationally.

It is through one such competition — the Progressive Musicians Auditions at Weill Recital Hall — that the Youth Ensemble was able to perform at Carnegie Hall in April 2024. Months later, they were invited back once again to perform at the annual “No Child Left Behind” concert in celebration of the 79th United Nations General Assembly and President H.E. Philemon Yang. Their performance was commended by Marco A. Suazo, Head of Office of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for the New York Office and President of the International Academy for Arts and Cultural Studies, as “breathtaking…Each piece contributed to an atmosphere of cultural richness and artistic excellence that perfectly aligned with the evening’s theme of global unity and cultural dialogue.”

Bonnie Mai, a member of the Youth Ensemble, described it as a “very surreal moment because we were gonna perform at Carnegie.”

The audience was “from all over,” she remembered, adding that it felt like a privilege “to still be in high school and able to have this moment.”

Jennifer Gamez, another member of the Youth Ensemble, agreed: “It was a big deal, playing in Carnegie Hall…When we were there, the entire concert had elements from around the world…It was a really cool experience.”

“Practice was more intense,” Bonnie said, but the teachers at BSA “also made sure we enjoyed this moment. Onstage, they made sure we had fun.”

“Rehearsals were a bit intense,” Noah Liu, a cellist in the ensemble, said. “But it all really paid off. As far as I remembered, (we were) one of the youngest groups there. (The Youth Ensemble) went together, took a bus.”

“It was fun spending time with people who also play,” he continued. He compared it to soccer, where the group is “always working together, interconnected.”

The community is a big part of the BSA experience. Most of the students, having joined at a young age, have known their classmates for years and watched each other grow up.

For Bonnie Mai, “It started because my mom put me in music. I fell in love with it, once I grew up.” This love extended to the community at BSA: “playing with them, (being) able to make a lot of new friends.”

“The community is really nice,” Gisele Francisco, another member of the Youth Ensemble said. “I’ve been friends with a lot of them since I was like five.”This sense of community extends to the teachers, as well.
“The staff members (don’t) feel like normal teachers,” Kian Tsolov, a violinist in the ensemble, said. “I’ve been with them a long time, they can see you grow up. It feels different from a normal teacher.”

“It’s very different in music,” said Michal Shein, a teacher at BSA. “You have the opportunity to start a student, see them through their entire schooling.” Michal has several students who started around middle school or even earlier, and “(I) see them through graduation. (It’s) so special.”

BSA has a very high retention rate, Shein added. “Kids come and stay.” After graduation, the program invites alumni in Boston to come back and train and work as teachers. “Every year, students come back.”

Shein has been teaching at BSA since 2019, when she met Marielisa and Mariesther. BSA is “a very important model in the El Sistema program,” Shein said. “It’s a very special program, very intensive.”

The students at BSA were last week preparing for the collaboration with soloists Paul Laraia and Markus Placci at The Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport on May 18. “It’s very cool (that) we’re doing this project with BSA,” Laraia said. Both Laraia and Placci are also professors at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they perform in a faculty string quartet that emphasizes engagement between Berklee and the wider Boston community.

In this upcoming performance, Laraia and Placci will be performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in collaboration with the Youth Ensemble. “We’re holding (the students) to a more professional standard… (and) they’re holding up incredibly well,” Laraia said. “(With) a few more rehearsals, it’s going to be a musically engaging performance.”

“(That’s) the thing I’ve always loved about (BSA),” Laraia added. “The teachers have always done this side by side, with students. Students are hitting a level they would not be able to hit on their own. Markus and I are adding to that model.”

“This has been a fantastic journey that started many years ago in Venezuela,” Mariesther said. “(My sister and I) grew up in El Sistema, the National System for Youth Orchestras and Choirs. We lived the transformational power of music and now it is our life mission to give it to others.

“We have been in the neighborhood for years, hosted by several institutions, the Steinhart building, Boston Children’s Chorus, Chinese Evangelical Church, Kwong Kow Chinese School, Boston Chinatown Community Center, and finally since last year we have our own space here at 33 Harrison Ave. We are accepting students at both, our morning program for kindergarten and elementary school students, and our afternoon program for middle School and High School students.”

The BSA’s upcoming shows include:

June 8:End-of-Year Celebration Orchestra Concert, 5 p.m. at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 132 Ipswich St, Boston

June 10: Youth Ensemble Students Solo Recital, 6: p.m. at Boston Conservatory, 8 Fenway St., Boston

June 11: Allston Students Solo Recital, 4 p.m. at Harvard Ed Portal – 224 Western Ave, Boston

June 12: Chinatown Solo Recital, 5 p.m. at Boston String Academy Music Center, 33 Harrison Ave., 4th floor

July 14-25: Boston String Academy Summer Camp, Boston String Academy Music Center, 33 Harrison Ave., 4th floor