The soft-spoken Margarita Copello has dedicated heart and soul to the well-being of the National Symphony Orchestra. In an interview in El Dia she highlights that Dominicans are naturally musical, and have much talent. She hopes that the expansion of awareness of classical music will be able to reach more Dominicans that today are under the influence of what she called “urban noise”.
“Dominicans are musical, coordinated and their soul is musical,” she told El Dia. “Now there is a lot of musical noise in the country, and that is sad, but it is going to change, we are working for that,” she said.
Copello explained she got involved with the Symphony when its conductor, the late Carlos Piantini, told her in 1986 that if more economic support was not found, the Symphony would disappear. The government wages for the musicians was not enough for the musicians to continue. Copello was then incidental to the creating of the Symphony Foundation that today manages the National Symphony Orchestra, and has found support in the private sector and general public to complement the wages paid by the government. The Foundation also is responsible for the Santo Domingo Music Festival that every two years brings world class musicians to Santo Domingo.