The previous record was for an orchestra of 8,097 musicians who played together in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Venezuela’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestra – known as “El Sistema” – has set a new Guinness record for the world’s largest orchestra, with 8,573 musicians playing together, the country’s government said. Said on 20 November.
A week ago more than 12,000 musicians played a classical song together for more than five minutes as they tried to break a Russian record set two years earlier.
Venezuela’s Minister of Information Freddy Nenez and the Russian Ambassador to Caracas, Sergei Melik-Bagdasarov, congratulated the musicians in an address broadcast on state television on 20 November.
The broadcast included a recording from Guinness World Records expert Susanna Reyes announcing that the Venezuelan musician had succeeded in setting a new record after Pyotr Tchaikovsky played Lamarche Slave for more than five minutes.
During the broadcast, President Nicolas Maduro showed a certificate from Guinness World Records that “El Sistema” broke the record with 8,573 musicians in the orchestra.
The previous record was for an orchestra of 8,097 musicians who played together in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Circumstances require musicians to play together, without swapping people, or lending their instruments to other players.
Guinness did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“El Sistema” counts approximately 350,000 children and youth among its ranks, playing in a network of 180 orchestras.
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