'Sadness & Melancholy' is the emotion that will mark this new musical proposal. A trip that includes the premiere of a work tribute to an outstanding figure in our history.

In the company of great national artists, the Student Choir of the Music Department of the University of La Serena and the Cantus Florido Vocal Ensemble, the group belonging to the Network of Professional Regional Orchestras of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage prepares to offer its III Season Concert in the Province of Elqui. A new journey through emotions titled 'Sadness & Melancholy', which urges the most regulars of this type of programming and those who enjoy choral proposals, to be part of this great musical event.

Rodolfo Fischer Rojas reunites with the region to work again with the professional team. The journey towards the states of the soul contemplates one of the most sublime pieces of the classical repertoire, cataloged as one of the 5 most beloved works of the entire universal musical selection, 'Requiem Mass', K626 by the Austrian composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “ Firstly, in this work I highlight the closeness that the public may feel because in some way it belongs to them. It's like seeing a painting that one has always dreamed of seeing live and that feeling, I think, is very adrenaline for the public and it is wonderful that it is like that," he says.

Fischer will conduct this acclaimed piece alongside outstanding voices from the territory: Camila Gallardo (soprano), Alejandra Rodríguez (contralto), Ignacio Cortés (tenor) and Javier Galleguillos (baritone).

The 'Tristeza & Melancolía' concert will also recognize Víctor Alarcón, who was in life one of the most important choral directors in the country and Fernando Rosas National Music Award winner. The maestro died in a car accident 7 months ago and this month he will be honored by the professional ensemble of the Coquimbo Region and the outstanding Chilean soprano, Andrea Aguilar Silva, widow of the maestro, with an absolute premiere written by the Chilean composer, Carlos Zamora .

The piece 'In Memoriam a Víctor Alarcón' fully captures the essence of this fifth program of the year, which responds to a project “that was born from the emotion that we all felt when 'Vicho' (Víctor Alarcón) left so suddenly ", indicated Fischer, who delves into this absolute premiere in honor of the choral trainer: "he had the particularity of being Magellanic and in the case of this work, we decided with Andrea to approach Carlos Zamora, who was the composer closest to him. They agreed that the text was by Rolando Cárdenas, who at the same time was a poet very close to Vicho, also because he was Magellanic and because he had this very special profile; being an orphan and having grown up with a mother who was not his own, but the most important thing is that all this is born from an emotion. I told Andrea to make a work with which one can remember Vicho, because requiem presentations come and go; On the other hand, a work can remain, that is why we did it after this entire series of tribute concerts,” the baton emphasized.

For her part, Andrea Aguilar Silva, the soprano soloist of this concert, also referred to said premiere: “I am very happy to work again with the Orchestra and that In Memoriam a Víctor Alarcón will be released for choir, chamber orchestra and soprano soloist. This is a world premiere for someone who was my husband and an important choral trainer and director; For the same reason, I am super happy that this work can be released. I feel very lucky to be able to do it,” she declared, indicating that “it is very nice that each program reflects a feeling, a particularity in the concerts because that gives you room for a better interpretation of what one is going to sing; in this case sadness and melancholy. Clearly, when you lose a person so close, of course there is a lot of sadness and melancholy, but the work that Víctor left behind is immense, immeasurable and we must continue making music for him, absolutely," said the performer.

The work is based mainly “on some verses by a poet from Punta Arenas whom Víctor read and admired a lot, Rolando Cárdenas. As this work is contemporary, written by Carlos Zamora, we are going to find a hallelujah, polyphony; This is due to the area where Punta Arenas and Patagonia are located, so it is closely linked to Argentine samba, the chacarera, it was something common that was played with guitar and Víctor also sang a lot of that repertoire,” Aguilera said by telephone.

Presentations in Coquimbo and La Serena

The III Season Concert will have two dates in the Province of Elqui. One of them is part of a new anniversary of the port commune, which celebrates 152 years of life and will be added to the long list of activities that Coquimbo has scheduled for the month of May. The coordinator of the Department of Culture of the Illustrious Municipality of Coquimbo, José Manuel Jiménez Bustamante, indicated that “it is an honor for us as a municipality to be able to have this orchestra. It is an orchestra with a long history, which has very high-level professional musicians and thanks to this new agreement that both entities have signed, we will have the privilege of having 9 concerts during 2019”, adding that the next concert will be held next Thursday May 9, at 20 p.m., at the Palace Cultural Center (Aldunate #599, Barrio Inglés). Your entry is released, respecting the total capacity of the room.

In La Serena, the concert will take place on Friday, May 10, at 20 p.m., in the Aula Magna of the Ignacio Domeyko Campus (Benavente 980). The presentation has no membership fee and is without withdrawal of invitations, until the capacity of the university campus is reached.

This new season is financed by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, which since 2016 has been attached to the Glosa de Presupuesto Nacional; in addition to the important institutional support given by the University of La Serena, through the Directorate of Links with the Environment and Extension (DIVEULS); the Municipality of La Serena, through its Department of Culture; and the Municipality of Coquimbo with the support of the Palace Cultural Center.

Written by Camila Pérez, University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra