The meeting organized by the Mismar Cultural Association will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the maestro's death, remembering his brilliant work as a composer.

For four days, the city of La Serena, cradle of music and formation of the first Children's Symphony Orchestra in Chile and Latin America, will dress up to pay a sublime tribute to its most important hero and illustrious son with the 'Jorge Musical Festival Peña Hen: A tribute to the maestro', which rescues his invaluable legacy as a composer and musical arranger. This project is carried out through financing from the 2018 Music Funds, of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage.

The unprecedented event, free of charge, is conceived and organized by the Mismar Cultural Association, with the need to share with the city that saw him form and die at the hands of the Caravan of Death, his acclaimed role as leader, born creator and irrefutable talent as a composer. Aspects that are less known about Jorge Peña Hen, taking into account the overwhelming musical quality of his works, the extraordinary orchestrator and the excellent arranger of pieces that he was. Qualities and versatility that led him to write, at only 14 years old, his first piece of music; At the age of 21 he was awarded the Caupolicán Prize for the music of the national film 'Río Abajo', in addition to composing concertos for piano and orchestra, quartets, string suites, multiple adaptations and arrangements of great composers, among which symphonic music stands out. , choral, incidental, works for piano, for Christmas Altarpieces and Children's Opera.

“We believe that the acts and tributes to the maestro will never be enough, but we are convinced that this festival has a very special feature, because it rescues the creative work of Jorge Peña Hen and his need to make and write music (…) . For this reason, we started with the rescue, research, transcription, editing and publication of a large part of his work as a composer, and as the Mismar Cultural Association we set ourselves the task of creating a commemorative festival for him, on the one hand, remembering the 45 years of his murder. and, on the other hand, showing the rescue of their scores and sharing it with the entire community,” said José Luis Urquieta, artistic director of the organizing entity.

The meeting stands out for its programming and artistic proposal, as well as for the number of interventions and the variety of groups and artists that will perform in different places in the colonial city, during daytime and evening hours: “the characteristics of this meeting are very interesting, on the one hand it combines renowned national artists with emerging artists and also regional musicians,” explained Urquieta.

This festival contemplates the logical consequence of the work that the Association carried out during the years 2016 and 2017, musicological research that contains a total of 41 complete works by the great Serenense master; added to the elaboration of its catalog of scores, transcription and musical edition of each of his pieces, in order to enhance and promote the interpretation of it among students, soloists and learned national and international groups. Initiative carried out through financing from the Regional Government of Coquimbo, through the FNDR 2016 Competitive Culture Funds.

As part of the program, the participation of the Surkos Quartet stands out, who will launch their album “Obras para Cuarteto de Cuerdas” in La Serena, produced this year with financing from the 2018 Music Funds, from the Ministry of Arts, Cultures and the Heritage. In the words of the ensemble's violinist, Marcelo Pérez, recording these works was a true privilege, “I had the opportunity to get to know Peña Hen's family a little better. The research we did in the library, we found the scores that were lost in the archives and that was something very significant; taking into account that in addition to all the legacy that he left in pedagogical and orchestral terms, the work of these works reveals the high level of composer that he was,” he explained.

Regarding the realization and significance that this regional festival will have, the musician indicated that “it is very necessary because during this research I realized that many people do not know of the legacy that the maestro left, and others have not even heard his name; "It is very important to teach and make it known through these instances outside of Santiago."

As a consequence of the musical imprint that Peña Hen left, the violinist added that there is so much richness in the works written by the maestro “that rescuing them to be studied seems incredible to me, and something that catches my attention and that is more noticeable in the works that he composed when he was little, are the fugues and the quartet that we find as a posthumous opus; Also his mastery of counterpoint and composition techniques written for the time he lived in Chile makes his innate talent very clear. In addition, his knowledge of European aesthetics, he always put in one way or another his own identity as a Latin American and Chilean, through some sounds that marked his preferences,” Marcelo Pérez explained.

Several of the activities will take place in the new Gabriel Mistral Regional Library in La Serena, an initiative through which concerts, talks and the exhibition of the documentary “Jorge Peña Hen, his music and his children”, made by Gabriel Milla, will be held. Given this exhibition and the holding of this unprecedented festival, the director of the venue, Ximena Sobarzo, stated that “Jorge Peña Hen is part of the musical and artistic heritage of our region. 90 years after his birth, we are committed to disseminating part of his cultural legacy as founder of the first children's orchestra in Latin America and to expanding the cultural rights of boys, girls and young people, especially those who lived in conditions of greater vulnerability (... ). We believe that reading is much more than books, it is also music, sound and images, just as writing is also composition.”

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Tuesday October 16

12:00 hours | Educational Concert - Liceo Gregorio Cordovez
18:00 hours | Surkos Quartet album launch: “Comprehensive works for string quartet by Jorge Peña Hen” - Gabriela Mistral Regional Library
19:30 p.m. | Concert No. 1 “Music for string quartet” - Gabriela Mistral Regional Library
 

Wednesday 17 October

12:00 hours | Talk “The first children's symphony orchestra in Latin America” - Gabriela Mistral Regional Library
16:00 hours | Documentary Exhibition 'Jorge Peña Hen, his music and his children' - Gabriela Mistral Regional Library
19:00 p.m. | Concert No. 2 “Works for Solo Piano” - Mecesup Hall, Department of Music, University of La Serena.

Thursday October 18

12:00 hours | Talk “The Musical Legacy of Maestro Jorge Peña Hen” - Department of Music, University of La Serena.
19:00 p.m. | Concert No. 3 “Chamber Music and Choral Works” - Mecesup Hall, Department of Music, University of La Serena.

Friday October 19

12:00 hours | Talk “Life and work of teacher Jorge Peña Hen” - Liceo Gregorio Cordovez
20:00 p.m. | Concert No. 4 'Symphonic Works' – Municipal Theater of La Serena