As part of its initiatives in the cultural field for the promotion of young talents, the Wilo-Foundation supports the transatlantic orchestra projects of the Cuban-European Youth Academy (CuE), which take place at the Dortmunder Orchesterzentrum|NRW (Dortmund orchestra centre North Rhine-Westphalia) and in Havana. In the 2018/19 season the Foundation provided financial support for the project “barocco!”, in 2019/20 for the project “clasicismo!”. The patron of the ambitious international orchestra series is the Federal Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas.

As part of a project running over a period of several months, music students from various European countries and Cuba take part in intensive courses and explore the music of a specific period (e.g. the Baroque or Classical period). Working with teachers from the Balthasar Neumann-Ensemble, they delve deep into various practical aspects of stage performance. After completing these special courses, the students come together in a transatlantic orchestra project under the leadership of renowned conductors such as Enrico Onofri and start rehearsing programmes with works from the respective period. The music courses are organised in collaboration with the Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana in Cuba and Dortmunder Orchesterzentrum|NRW. The project concludes with a final concert where the young musicians perform on stage, for instance at Dortmunder Orchesterzentrum|NRW, or at other venues, either in Germany or in Cuba.

In addition, a Brahms concert (“A German Requiem”) was organised in 2019 in Havana de Cuba on the occasion of the capital’s 500th anniversary, involving the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and the CuE. Support for the concert was provided by the Wilo-Foundation, the Brost Foundation, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Working Group for Cultural Tasks Abroad.

The Cuban-European Youth Academy (CuE) was founded in 2014 by conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Academy. CuE is an innovative education programme for Cuban and European musicians who greatly benefit from the joint activities, even a long time after participating in the programme. The programme is meant to complement the musicians’ studies in their home country and enables them discover new sound and work cultures. The central objective of the CuE is to provide multifaceted cultural support to upcoming musicians, including through further training. The CuE stands for transatlantic cultural exchange, seeks to build trust and promote a broad range of collaborative activities, and offers a large variety of exchange and education projects on both sides of the Atlantic.