My choral and translation experiences with the international federation for choral music (IFCM)

Abstract

Throughout this report, I will describe the development of my internship at the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). Although its main headquarters are located in Austin, Texas (USA), I worked directly with the European unit in Spain, although I did so while being in Venezuela. My services were required for a period of twelve weeks, and this internship complied with the requirements of the internship Coordination at the School of Modern Languages of the University of Los Andes. While carrying out an internship, students may have the opportunity of applying the knowledge obtained during the undergraduate studies of the Modern Languages program and also acquire a number of habits and abilities to take into practice during their professional careers. My professional option is International Organizations and taking part of the work required by the International Federation for Choral Music satisfied my needs and wishes of mixing one more time my two main interests: music and languages. During my distance internship I was asked to translate specialized texts of musical topics from English to Spanish. Although my option is not Translation, I fit perfectly the needs of this international organization thanks to my experience as a choral singer, my previous knowledge of the specialized English terms of music and my prior work with this organization. This report consists of five sections. The first one is the profile of the host institution, which will describe the functioning, objectives and philosophy of the IFCM. The second part deals with the nature of the internship and illustrates the work carried out as an intern and the experience acquired. The third point is the reflection essay which portrays the personal experience of the intern. The fourth part is the conclusions of the whole process, and finally, the fifth and last section is the recommendations that could be made both to the host institution and to the University. My aim with this report is to inspire other people and demonstrate that it is possible to combine our interests and to obtain as result a particular experience while leaving the name of the University high up.