The evening featured the mastery of prominent guest artists, who provided a pleasant moment of reflection on the feelings of this season.

With a valuable selection of operas from the classical repertoire and a new state of soul, the University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra performed two successful special midday concerts in the cities of Coquimbo and La Serena. The evenings not only stood out for their bold programming, but also for the quality of their guests along with the impeccable register of the soprano Patricia Cifuentes (Chile) and the baritone Eleomar Cuello (Cuba), while the current director of the Camerata Universidad de Los Andes, Eduardo Browne, was in charge of conducting the tenth concert of 2019.

The presentations offered in the territory, both of the highest level, embodied the feelings of 'Love & Tenderness'. Given this and due to the difficult situation the country is going through, the guest teacher assured that art and music must continue: “There is still a lot to sing. We still have to sing for Christmas, during the summer and especially at this time in Chile, we have to sing and make a lot of music, very important. The work that we musicians have, I think is going to be a very good remedy for the soul of Chileans," he said, and then assured that he feels "very grateful that they have invited me again, that means that there is trust with teacher. I am a demanding conductor, I am very detailed and the orchestra is very willing to work, and that makes me very happy.”

In both special noon performances the musical program was marked by a vast list of famous operas from around the world, in which works for solo orchestra stand out; soloists and duos. Among the selection presented, the invited artists surprised with Mozart's pieces 'Laci darem la mano' by Don Giovanni, 'Lippen schweigen of the Merry Widow' written by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár and 'En mi Tierra Extremadura by Luisa Fernanda' by maestro Federico Moreno Torroba. In the words of the Cuban baritone, this presentation featured “well-known works within classical music, in the same way, it had that different click with very refreshing works. It was beautiful music with a variety of composers; We have four different languages ​​where we had German, French, Italian and Spanish. The last one was Luisa Fernanda's zarzuela, which I don't think is done much in the orchestra, but it was a good thing and the audience also finished on a high note because they understand what we are singing,” said Eleomar.

As for the rest of the program, the acclaimed soloist added that it was a “very pleasant surprise to sing with the orchestra,” highlighting his performance in pieces as sublime as the 'Danza Ritual del Fuego', belonging to the composer's ballet 'El Amor Brujo'. Spanish Manuel de Falla; the 'Intermezzo de Cavallería Rusticana' by maestro Pietro Mascagni and the famous piece by Richard Wagner 'Idyll of Siegfried'. Regarding this last work, Cuello maintained that “an orchestra of 80 musicians is needed and although the Symphony Orchestra is half of it, it was not noticed and it sounded wonderful for the approximately 18 minutes that this beautiful work by Wagner lasts. The cast really shined and in my parts, I felt really accompanied by the orchestra (…) In addition, we are very happy with the audience that attended, they responded very well in both concerts, they were very grateful and you could feel the energy of the people Every time we finished a work, they were well connected. We singers can look into people's eyes and the reaction of the people was appreciated, it was impressive,” the soloist elaborated.

For her part, soprano Patricia Cifuentes referred to the vision that the orchestra has maintained of being able to express itself - in times of social outbreak - through art and music, and how this is the best weapon to deliver 'Love and Tenderness' to people: “our goal as musicians and what I wanted personally, was to deliver quality music to people so that we could fill ourselves with positive energy, learn a little more or just feel. I was super focused on delivering the best, with a strength and energy that would go beyond the violence or this generalized bad vibe that exists at the moment in Chile. I believe that we should not stop, that we should not stop making music, we should not stop doing concerts, we should not stop moving people to these instances where one can, a little, enter into people to make a "A better family and that already generates a small change because everything good adds up to more," said one of the most important voices on the national scene.

It should be noted that the 2019 season is carried out thanks to the important financing provided to us by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, which since 2016 has been attached to the National Budget Glosa; in addition to the fundamental support provided by the University of La Serena and the Directorate of Linkage with the Environment and Extension (DIVEULS); the Municipality of La Serena and its Department of Culture; and the Municipality of Coquimbo in conjunction with its Department of Culture.

Written by Camila Pérez, University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra