Side by Side by El Sistema The largest youth music camp in the world!

Welcome to Side by Side, an international music camp for you about 6-23 years old who loves to sing in a choir or play in an orchestra. Through music, we build bridges between people, cultures and continents.

17-21 June 2023 is the 10th anniversary of the international music camp Side by Side! During some intense summer days, children and young people from around the world gather in Gothenburg to play in an orchestra and sing in a choir. Through music, we build bridges between people, cultures and continents.

The camp is part of the official anniversary celebration for Gothenburg 400 years/2023 and offers several concerts for the public, including the large Festival Concert in Scandinavium.

Exciting conductors, musicians and educators lead workshops and rehearsals during Side by Side and the concerts are played side by side with musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony and the Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble.

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Apply 2023

Apply to participate in this summer’s Side by Side 17-21 June 2023! All children and young people between the ages of 6 and 23 who are interested in music are welcome to the camp.

  • Application period 1: 9 Nov-13 Dec
  • Application period 2: 14 Dec-8 Feb
  • Late application/remaining positions: 15 Feb-13 Apr
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Contact

Johan Andersson Duraffourd

Project leader/Producer johan.andersson@gso.se


Do you want to work with Side by Side?

To Side by Side 2023, we are looking for creative music lovers and organizational geniuses who like to work with people in general and children and young people in particular.

We employ:

  • Child host
  • Accommodation host
  • Site host
  • Track host
Read more & apply on the Side by Side-web

Help as a volunteer at this year's anniversary camp!

To make Side by Side an experience of a lifetime for our participants, many adults are needed who contribute with their commitment, their time, their hearts and their hands.

As a volunteer, you get to experience the camp feeling up close and have the opportunity to attend the camp’s various concerts for free. You will also be invited to a concert with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in autumn 2023.

Read more & apply on the Side by Side-web
Concerts
Side by Side presents: Mångfaldsfestivalen
15 Jun 10.00

Sing-a-long in Trädgårdsföreningen - all pre-school children who like to sing, parents and educators are warmly welcome! This year's theme is "Olika men ändå lika" (Different but Still the Same).

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Side by Side 2023: Beginners in Concert
18 Jun 11.30

Welcome to a cozy lunchtime concert at the World Culture Museum with the very youngest participants from the Side by Side by El Sistema music camp. Free entrance.

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Side by Side 2023: Festival Concert
20 Jun 15.00

2023 the youth music camp Side by Side celebrates 10 years and Gothenburg's 400th anniversary with more than 2,000 young musicians and singers from all corners of the world, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble, in Scandinavium!

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Side by Side 2023: Wind & String in Concert
20 Jun 19.30

The international music camp Side by Side by El Sistema ends its anniversary Tuesday with a spectacular concert with extra everything. There will be a string orchestra, wind orchestra and symphony orchestra – all at the same time!

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Side by Side 2023: Choirs in Concert
21 Jun 12.30

2023 the youth music camp Side by Side celebrates 10 years! This concert is loaded with music performed by the camp’s more than 300 choristers, side by side with musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

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Side by Side 2023: Open Choir in Concert
21 Jun 14.30

Fast-paced, lighthearted, and danceable! The international music camp Side by Side by El Sistema offers an inspirational experience with the children and youth from Open Choir.

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Side by Side 2023: Early & Folk in Concert
21 Jun 16.00

The international music camp Side by Side by El Sistema cordially invite you to an exciting musical journey through time and space. Folk and world music is mixed with tones from the Renaissance and the Middle Ages.

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Side by Side 2023: Closing Concert
21 Jun 18.00

2023 the youth music camp Side by Side celebrates 10 years! The camp’s closing concert is a magnificent musical experience as the camp’s most talented participants play and sing alongside the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble.

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Children and youth from all over the world

During the Side by Side-camp children and young people from around the world get together to play in orchestra, sing in choir, create and develop. Through music, we build bridges between people, cultures and continents.

Participants rehearse and spend time together during the camp, and they get to meet exciting artists and performers who take charge of workshops and rehearsals. Together they inspire each other, develop their talents and acquire new skills and knowledge. Parents and family members are also welcome to participate.

All participants in the camp gather in a magnificent concert together with musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony and singers from the Vocal Ensemble, who are also mentors for the participants.

How the camp started

In 2009, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra began a collaboration with the city of Gothenburg to establish El Sistema in Sweden. It was the orchestra’s chief conductor Gustavo Dudamel who brought the model from Venezuela.

In 2010, the first El Sistema school started in Hammarkullen by Angered’s cultural school and in 2014 the first Side by side camp was launched, in close collaboration with the El Sistema Sweden foundation.

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is the main organizer of the camp since 2016.

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Watch Side by Side 2022: Closing Concert

The music camp Side by Side by El Sistema concludes with a classical concert where the camp’s most advanced participants show off their skills side by side with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Watch the concert from summer 2022 on our digital concert hall GSOplay.

Watch on GSOplay

Develop your musicality with us

Musicians from Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, professional educators and singers inspire you in the Concert Hall - guaranteed energy injections for children and youth where you get to know even more people who love music.

Play & sing with us
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