The event contemplates the participation of various national ensembles, and promises a colossal closing around the figure of Beethoven.

With a varied program and a large number of artists on stage, the Department of Music of the University of La Serena together with the La Serena Regional Symphony Orchestra Foundation are fine-tuning the last details to turn the regional capital, once again, into the stage for the Summer Musical Encounters, from January 8 to 12.

The long-awaited and traditional local event, supported by the Rectory of the state campus, is in its thirty-third version, and will feature the participation of various regional and national groups, who will offer everything from chamber music concerts to choral repertoire and new proposals on stage. . In a special way, the event will culminate with Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony, performed by the ensemble belonging to the Network of Professional Regional Orchestras of the National Council for Culture and the Arts, in the company of the ULS Symphony Choir and guest soloists, for reasons of end the 2017 Season and start the 2018 Season.

Five days of good music

This new version of the summer Musical Meetings will begin next Monday, January 8, at 21:00 p.m., with the inaugural concert by the Jorge Peña Hen Youth Symphony Orchestra, made up of students from the Experimental School of Music and directed by maestro Hugo Domínguez Cruzat, who will perform the 'Swan Lake Ballet Suite' and the 'Solemn Overture 1812, Op.49' by composer PI Tchaikovsky; in addition to the works 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2' by Franz Lizt and the 'Carmen Opera Suite', by George Bizet.

The activities continue by the innovative duo of musicians made up of Santiago Kuschnir and Ska Cuturrufo Pierotic: 'TA! Another percussion'. The musicians will present their percussion show and dialogue with the scene, mixed with a wide range of instruments, rhythms and images that immerse the viewer in an atmosphere that captivates and surprises. The event will be at the Centenario Theater in La Serena, on Tuesday, January 9 at 12:00 p.m.

Later, at 21:00 p.m., the Municipal Theater of La Serena will become the stage for the Baroque Orchestra 'La Extravagante', a group formed in 2017 with the purpose of promoting the musical interpretation of the baroque under historically informed criteria. . As for the program, the orchestra will perform classical masters of the German Baroque, such as GP Telemann, JS Bach and G. F Händel.

Given this first participation in the summer Musical Meetings, the musical director of the 'La Extravagante' Orchestra, Tatiana Espinoza, stated that as it is an emerging group, “for us it is very important that they have considered us to participate in this important event. and which has been carried out for many years in the region", adding that "this platform is a great opportunity to reach more people and show the work we have done together with other members of the orchestra, in the rescue of the European baroque repertoire. There was significant interest from many people in the Music Department to work on this program, which is historically documented and informed, and in which we worked on how it could have sounded at that time, since there are no recordings, but there are written records. how it could have been interpreted and we base ourselves on that to make our music,” Espinoza explained.

On Wednesday, January 10 at noon, the Teatro Centenario de La Serena will once again be the scene of a new chamber music concert; on this occasion, by the guitarist Manuel Macías and the Guitar Ensemble of the Department of Music of the University of La Serena, who will offer 'Fantasía in D Major' by David Kellner, 'Fantasía Op.30' by Fernando Sor, 'Esquinas Op.68' by Juan Orrego Salas, 'Julia Florida' by Agustín Barrios' and 'Praise of the Dance' by Leo Brouwer, as well as 'Estampas' by Federico Moreno Torroba and ' Gracias a la vida' and 'La jardinera' by Violeta Parra with arrangements by Francisco Vergara.

Later, at 21:00 p.m., it is the turn of the presentation of the 'University Orchestra' of the University of La Serena by its director, Manuel Figueroa-Bolvarán, who will offer a program called 'Symphonic Dances of the World', which includes the pieces: 'Sensemayá' by Silvestre Revueltas, 'Danzón N° 2' by Arturo Márquez, 'Danzas Polovetsianas' from the opera "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin and, finally, the well-known dances from the suite 'Estancia' by the Argentine Alberto Ginastera. The concert will be at the Municipal Theater of La Serena.

On Thursday, January 11, is the Chamber Music Concert of 'D' entraña Cantera', a group formed in 2017 by the musicians Daniela Banderas (palahuito), Vanessa Flores (Chilean rabel), Mathias Rojas (guitar and Colombian tiple), Raúl 'Talo' Pinto (Creole harp and cueca tambourine), Mauricio Álvarez (Mexican guitar and Colombian tiple) and Gabriel Gálvez (compositions and voice), who seek to connect with the Orphic heritage, trying to restore the ancient link between poetry, singing and spirituality. 'D' entraña Cantera' will be presented at 12:00 p.m. at the Centenario Theater in La Serena.

After this presentation, at 21:00 p.m., the Municipal Theater of the regional capital will receive the La Serena Chamber Choir, which under the direction of Eduardo Enrique Gajardo, will give a diverse program to the local community consisting of poems and works such as 'Arriba en la cordillera' by Patricio Manns, 'Sonetos de la muerte I' by Gabriela Mistral, 'Norte Grande' by Sofanor Tobar, 'Lejos del Amor' by Luis Alberto Valdivia and Roberto Márquez, among other adaptations for female choirs and masculine.

Finally, the 2018 Musical Encounters will culminate around the important figure of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, and the performance of his magnanimous 'Ninth Symphony in D Minor, Op.125', as a way to close with a flourish the successful season of concert that the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra had during 2017, and also give way to an ambitious, inclusive and multicultural 2018 Season. This presentation will be conducted by maestro José Luis Domínguez Mondragón, a Chilean musician residing in the United States, the dazzling voices of the ULS Symphonic Choir and the guest soloists: Patricia Cifuentes (soprano), Evelyn Ramírez and Gonzalo Tomckowiack (tenor) and Homero Pérez (baritone).

Given this, Mario Arenas Navarrete, Director of the Music Department and president of the La Serena Regional Symphony Orchestra Foundation, commented that in musical terms “putting together this type of works is a tremendous challenge for any institution and, particularly, the Music Department is “He is very proud of all the efforts and work carried out by the La Serena University Symphony Orchestra and the great soloists, who will present nothing more and nothing less than Beethoven's 9th Symphony.”

The presentation will take place on Friday, January 12, at 21:00 p.m., in the Iglesia Catedral de La Serena.

goodbye to the teacher

It should be noted that the inauguration of this new version will be full of emotion, since in a special way, the Youth Symphony Orchestra will perform its repertoire in the company of former students who were part of the youth ensemble in their different generations. The reunion of the musicians will be held to bid farewell to the great maestro Hugo Domínguez Cruzat, who, for more than thirty years, has served uninterruptedly as a teacher and director of the youth cast, and who will complete his duties in 2018, this being , his last participation in the Summer Musical Meetings.

In the words of Maestro Domínguez and because “I am doing the paperwork for my retirement, this will be the last opportunity I have to meet with many students who passed through the Jorge Peña Hen Youth Orchestra, with whom I have beautiful memories and we have invited them to join this concert. The response has been truly spectacular and I am extremely excited by the number of alumni who participated, doubling the number of musicians in the orchestra in this, which will be my last direction at the La Serena Musical Encounters,” he expressed excitedly.

For his part, Arenas indicated that “as it is Maestro Domínguez's last concert, it means that these Musical Encounters are marked by the affective and emotion that overwhelms us, concluding his long and valuable career in the Music Department. Maestro Domínguez has been a very important person for the Jorge Peña Hen Experimental School of Music, and the work he did during these long years in the Youth Symphony Orchestra has been very important.”

The Summer Musical Encounters are a free intervention available to the public, organized by the Department of Music of the University of La Serena and the La Serena Regional Symphony Orchestra Foundation, and sponsored by the National Council of Culture and the Arts ( CNCA), through the Cultural Donations Law.

Source: La Serena University Symphony Orchestra