The world record for the largest orchestra broken in Venezuela with 8,573 musicians

Russia is dislodged. Venezuela established on Saturday, November 20 the record for “the largest orchestra in the world”, certified by Guinness. Some 8,573 musicians played the Slavic march by Tchaikovsky. That’s almost 500 more than Russia, which set the last record in 2019 with an orchestra of 8,097 performers.

The record was set by musicians from Venezuela’s National Youth Orchestra System, nicknamed “El Sistema”. The concert brought together some 12,000 musicians, including children, on November 13 in the courtyard of the Venezuelan Military Academy in Caracas. But Guinness examiners ultimately only selected 8,573 participants.

The Venezuelan orchestra, financed by public funds, was founded in 1975 by the late maestro José Antonio Abreu to provide access to musical education to thousands of children from the lower classes. “El Sistema” had already gathered more than 10,000 musicians to pay tribute to his maestro when he passed away. But it had been impossible to certify the record due to the deadlines and documentation requested by Guinness.