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A hush of anticipation explodes into rapturous applause in a concert hall in Changzhou city, Jiangsu province, as Edwin Montealegre, a young conductor from Costa Rica, strides onto the stage. He takes a moment to sweep his gaze over the auditorium before raising his baton to begin the performance.
This is a culmination of years of hard work and a dream — to establish his own professional orchestra in China.
当来自哥斯达黎加的年轻指挥家埃德温·蒙塔莱格雷大步走上舞台时，江苏省常州市的一个音乐厅里，一片沉寂的期待爆发出热烈的掌声。举起指挥棒那一刻，音乐随之响起，他多年努力的梦想在这一刻得以实现。
The 37-year-old conductor’s journey, beginning in Shanghai, has been an unconventional one. Growing up in the tropical Central American country of Costa Rica, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in conducting in 2017.
这位37岁的指挥家从上海开始的旅程是不寻常的。他在中美洲热带国家哥斯达黎加长大，于2017年毕业，获得指挥学士学位。
“In 2018, my professor advised me to go to China because there was a good teacher from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory teaching at Shanghai Conservatory of Music,” Montealegre recalls. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
“2018年，我的教授建议我去中国，因为上海音乐学院有一位来自莫斯科国立柴可夫斯基音乐学院的好老师，”蒙特亚莱格里回忆说。“这是一个我不能错过的机会。”
So, he took the plunge, arriving in Shanghai later that year to first learn Mandarin — no easy feat when learning it simultaneously with English. However, the challenge was worthwhile when he gained admission to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s master’s program in 2019.
于是，他决定冒险一试，在那年晚些时候来到上海，开始学习普通话——如果同时学习汉语和英语，这可不是件容易的事。然而，当他在2019年被上海音乐学院硕士课程录取时，挑战是值得的。
During his studies, Montealegre became enthralled by Shanghai’s vibrant arts scene and the wealth of opportunities for musicians. Inspired by the top-caliber concerts he frequently attended, he began “dreaming big” of one day conducting his own professional orchestra and choir to similar levels of excellence. He thinks Shanghai’s arts infrastructure — with its state-of-the-art venues, lighting, and technology — seems to make anything possible.
“You just need to imagine it, and then figure out how to make it possible,” he says.
在上海音乐学院学习期间，孟爱德被上海充满活力的艺术氛围和丰富的音乐机会深深吸引，受到他经常参加的顶级音乐会的启发，他开始“大梦想”有朝一日指挥自己的专业管弦乐队和合唱团达到同样的卓越水平。他认为上海的艺术基础设施——拥有最先进的场地、灯光和技术——似乎让一切成为可能。他表示在上海，“你只需要想象，然后找出实现的方法。”
The seeds of ambition were sown. But when job offers came in from back home as he completed his thesis, he needed to take a pivotal decision — return to the comforts of Costa Rica or take a risk to pursue his musical vision in Shanghai. Against the odds, the conductor chose the road less traveled. With no business experience, Montealegre had to quickly acquire the skills to craft a company plan that could qualify him for an entrepreneurship visa. “What is a business plan? I had no idea,” he says, adding that he had to look it up online.
野心的种子已经播下。但是，当他完成论文时，来自家乡的工作机会来了，他需要做出一个关键的决定——是回到哥斯达黎加舒适的生活，还是冒险去上海追求他的音乐梦想。尽管困难重重，他还是选择了人迹罕至的那条路。由于没有商业经验，蒙特亚雷格里必须迅速掌握技能，起草一份公司计划，使他有资格获得创业签证。“什么是商业计划?”我不知道，”他补充说，他不得不在网上查了一下。
The visa application was accepted, and Montealegre officially launched his endeavor early this year with the company named Shanghai M Orchestra. However, hurdles still loomed. With a starting capital of zero, he had to repeatedly muster self-belief. “I think the most difficult thing is to keep the belief that you can make it possible because there are so many people who will tell you it’s impossible,” he says.
今年年初，孟爱德的公司——上海莫内斯特音乐制作有限公司正式成立。尽管起步资金为零，但他凭借不懈的努力逐渐获得了支持。“我认为最困难的是要坚信自己能够成功，因为总会有人告诉你这是不可能的。”
Through relentless networking and pitching to investors and sponsors, he gradually built support and financial backing for his fledgling orchestra. And, according to Yang Xuan, Montealegre’s girlfriend and right hand of the company, “Montealegre is also building up his team. We have a composer, Kamel, from Algeria, and two Malaysian women who help find orchestra members and recording”.
通过不断走访并说服投资者和赞助商，孟爱德逐渐为这个羽翼未丰的交响乐队找到了财务支持。他开始有了自己的小团队——一位来自阿尔及利亚的作曲家，以及两位来自马来西亚的成员，一名帮助寻找乐手，一名负责录音，包括他的女友杨璇也是他的左膀右臂。
While a big achievement, it’s just the first milestone in Montealegre’s vision. Future ambitions include everything from touring nationwide to establishing a music academy. He and his team are also mulling the idea of a music-themed camp for young Chinese musicians in his home country sometime soon.
成立交响乐团只是孟爱德梦想的第一步。未来的野心包括从全国巡演到建立一所音乐学院。他和他的团队也在考虑不久的将来在中国为年轻的中国音乐家举办一个以音乐为主题的夏令营。
“For me, it’s important to become a bridge between China and my country, and also between China and the Western world through the music,” he says.
“对我来说，重要的是通过音乐成为中国和我的国家之间的桥梁，也是中国和西方世界之间的桥梁，”他说。
He thinks the supportive business environment and a wealth of resources and services in Shanghai helped him pursue his dreams. “The government here is serious about attracting more investment. There are guides in many languages, for example, for work permits — and the policies for foreigners are getting better,” he says.
孟爱德认为，上海的良好营商环境和资源服务是他实现梦想的关键。他提到：“当地政府非常重视吸引投资，对外国人的政策也在不断改善。”
记者：吴婉珍 郑正
本文转载自中国日报网，如有侵权，请联系我们删除。
