Both presentations will take place at the Music Department of the University of La Serena.

Along with prominent regional artists and two interesting free-access activities, the Mismar Cultural Association invites the entire community of the Coquimbo Region to enjoy the third day of the 'Jorge Peña Hen Musical Festival', an event financed through Funds from the Music 2018 of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, which consists of various activities and that reflects extensive musicological research, rescue, transcription, editing and publication of a large part of the maestro's work as a composer, which was covered by the FNDR 2016 Competitive Culture Funds of the Regional Government of Coquimbo previously carried out by Mismar.

On this occasion, the third day of the long-awaited regional event will begin at noon on Thursday, October 18 with the talk called: 'The musical legacy of maestro Jorge Peña Hen', which will be given by the speakers Lina Barrientos Pacheco, musicologist and academic from the Department of Music of the University of La Serena, and Gonzalo Godoy Marín, administrative director of the Association. This talk is strongly focused on explaining the musical character of the work of maestro Jorge Peña Hen, its most relevant characteristics and compositions from a historical and academic point of view, along with disseminating the research that the Mismar Cultural Association has carried out in the development of the catalog of works by master Jorge Peña Hen. This activity will take place in the Fernando Rozas Room of the Jorge Peña Hen Experimental School of Music.

The programming continues at 19:00 p.m. with Concert No. 3: 'Chamber Music', with an attractive program that includes 'Two pieces for Wind Quintet', 'Three pieces for String Quartet', along with the 'Concertino for violin and strings', a work in which the young violinist Diego Ovalle Muñoz, a sixth grade student at the Jorge Peña Hen Experimental School of Music and an outstanding student of Professor Paulina Elgueta's violin chair, will perform as soloist.

Together with them, the 'Quartet Nº2' and the absolute premiere of the choral work 'Ave María' will be performed, all works composed by the great composer. The musical exhibition will be performed by three important ensembles from the region: 'El Quinteto de Vientos de La Serena' composed of Alevi Peña (bassoon), Leonardo Cuevas (oboe), Andrés Pallero (clarinet), Rodrigo López (traverse flute) and Gerson Pierotti (French horn). The ULS String Ensemble will also perform on stage, with performers Paulina Elgueta and Pamela Morales (violins), Polyana Brehmer (viola), Leonel Vásquez (violoncello), Andrés Carvajal (double bass). Finally, the musical evening will culminate with the Vocal Ensemble of the University of La Serena, directed by the outstanding national tenor Gonzalo Tomckowiack.

This concert will take place in the Mecesup Hall of the ULS Music Department, located on Larraín Alcalde s/n, between Los Jardines and Seminario.

In the words of the director of the choral corps of the house of higher studies, “it is a great honor to have been considered for this Festival, it makes us proud and motivates us as an ensemble, since we are aware of its magnitude and importance and we hope to live up to this great event.” Regarding the research carried out by the Mismar Cultural Association, reflected in 4 days of the Festival, Tomckowiack said that “we are very happy to discover this interesting work, it has been a challenge since some of the works are difficult and at the same time beautiful, like 'Ave María' which is a very interesting harmonic work and an absolute premiere (…). I believe that it is precisely us as the Department of Music, almost disciples, who are responsible for making known everything wonderful about Peña Hen's legacy, both his vision as a pedagogue and now as a musician-composer. “It would be interesting to be able to take it to other musical venues in the country.”

It should be noted that the 'Jorge Peña Hen Musical Festival: A tribute to the maestro' will last until Friday, October 19, with an artistic program consisting of a talk and a concert starring the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra and the ULS Vocal Ensemble, directed by guest conductor Miguel Ángel Castro Reveco.

This regional event aims to socialize and share with students, soloists and national and international learned groups, as well as with the community of the entire region, the lesser known facet of the creator of the first Children's Symphony Orchestra of Chile and Latin America, through musicological research carried out by the Mismar Cultural Association that included the recovery of 41 complete works, the preparation of its catalog of scores, transcription and musical edition of each of the maestro's invaluable pieces.

The activity was the result of constant work carried out by the artists.

Jaime Guerrero, Héctor Contreras, Mathias Rojas and Francisco Vergara were in charge of presenting an emotional guitar concert to the public that came to the Exhibition Hall of the University of La Serena. The program included a varied repertoire of works for guitar quartet, where the subtlety and strength of the guitar could be clearly appreciated by those in attendance.

On the occasion, the interpreters presented the result of extensive work carried out in the classrooms, and surprised and entertained the attendees with interpretations from different parts of the world.

In this regard, the academic of the ULS Department of Music, Mathias Rojas, commented: “it is a complete happiness, because the truth is the fruit of what we have worked for a long time, so for me it is a good fruit, because we receive all the love from the attendees, so happy for that, very happy. I also want to thank DIVEULS because it gives us this opportunity and this space that is acoustically comfortable for the guitar.”

On the other hand, attendees were grateful for the opportunity to attend this concert and for the repertoire presented. This is how Gabriel Gálvez, who attended the concert, expressed it: “I thought it was an excellent and beautiful concert, the repertoire was super nice and very well played,” he highlighted.

The activity, with free entry, was organized jointly by the artists and the Directorate of Liaison with the Environment and Extension of the study house, as part of the 2018 concert cycle.  

Source: DIVEULS press

The publication by academic José Manuel Aguayo brings together in graphic form (comics) the vision of Andacollo students regarding the Religious Festival of the Virgin.

Various copies of the book “Graphic Memory of a Religious Fervor”, by the academic of the Department of Arts and Letters of the University of La Serena, Mg. José Manuel Aguayo, were received by the Chilean Culture Extension Service (SEREC) and will be sent by said entity to prestigious universities abroad.

SEREC, a documentation service that serves the Latin American collections of foreign university libraries, with which it has maintained contact for more than 30 years, reported that the copies received will be sent to different universities, including Yale University, Princeton University , Harvard University, Notre Dame University, University of California, Berkeley, San Diego, New York University, Texas University, Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, among others, whose libraries develop topics related to Chile, in different areas of national activity: culture, philosophy , social sciences, economics, law, literature, religion, science, history and geography, literature, religion, art and architecture.

This work - in whose prologue the academic and Director of the Department of Education of the ULS, Dr. Jaime Montes, participates -, brings together in graphic form (comics) the vision of the students of the Pedro Regalado Videla de Andacollo High School regarding the religious festival of his commune, whose Chinese dances were declared by UNESCO (2014) as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. These young people were supported by students from the Design program of the higher education institution and the establishment's teachers.

The book “Graphic Memory of a Religious Fervor” is part of the winning initiatives of the 2017 Environmental Linkage Project Contest, of the Academic Vice-Rector's Office and the Directorate of Environmental Linkage and Extension of the state campus.

The presentations made by the musicians of the region's professional orchestra joined a series of activities on National Music Day, commemorating the 101 years since the birth of Violeta Parra.

With two applauded programs in an 'intimate and at home' format, the University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra offered the community of the regional capital and Coquimbo its last chamber concert of the 2018 Season. An acclaimed event that joined the commemorations of the birth of our national singer-songwriter, Violeta Parra, and the celebrations of the Day of Music and Chilean Musicians organized by the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage throughout the country.

This cycle of presentations began in the port community with the Territorial Extension Concert. Yéssica Delaigue, administrator of the Palace Cultural Center of Coquimbo, indicated that "having the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra again in our Cultural Center will always be a privilege. The quality of the sound, the virtuosity of its musicians and the trajectory of the group, "These are characteristics that guarantee a quality show."

For Francisco Poblete, who was part of the celebration of the 101 years of the multifaceted Chilean creator at the Palace Cultural center, he expressed that “the repertoire that the ensemble provided was quite beautiful and interesting. We had gone to other concerts before, but this one caught our attention, both because of the synchronicity of the musicians and because of the changes in instruments they presented and their sounds, which was very pleasant to hear.”

For her part, Valentina Jiménez, said that “this concert also seemed very attractive to me. It is very rich to be able to enjoy music and these types of free shows in the city. I hope in the future that more people integrate and become part of these interventions because they are very positive.”

After the successful concert given by the Ensemble of Strings and Winds in the Buenos Aires commune, the musicians Paulina Elgueta (violin), Ricardo Muñoz and Lorenzo Cabello (violas), Monserrat Trujillo (violoncello), Milén Godoy (flute), Alevi Peña (bassoon ) and Gerson Pierotti (French horn) moved to the Municipal Theater of La Serena to captivate the inhabitants of the regional capital with three masterful works: 'Quartet for bassoon, violin, viola and cello', Op.40 No. 2 in D Minor composed by the German conductor and cellist, Franz Danzi; the 'Quartet for flute, violin, viola and cello' and the 'Quintet for horn, violin, 2 violas and cello', K.407 in E Flat Major, by the Austrian genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Alberto Helmes, who attended the municipal venue, confessed that “I really liked the concert and the works they performed because they highlighted different aspects of the instruments they presented; First it was the French horn, then the transverse flute and then the bassoon, where the changes and sounds of the instruments and the different capacities of each musician were noticeable.”

For Elvira Badilla it was “very good that the musicians explained to us about their instruments and told the story behind the works they performed, so you better understand what you are listening to and I loved that. In addition, there was a lot of confidence among the musicians and everything sounded very harmonious.”

According to the calendar of activities of the professional group of the Coquimbo Region, October will continue to remember the memory of great figures of Chilean music with sublime free events. Next Friday, October 19, the Symphony Orchestra together with the Vocal Ensemble of the University of La Serena will be in charge of putting the finishing touch to the 'Jorge Peña Musical Festival: A tribute to the maestro', to then culminate the tenth month of the year (Saturday, October 27) with the participation of the symphonic ensemble in a new version of the Luis Advis Musical Composition Competition, in the classical music category, organized by the Seremía de las Culturas, las Artes y el Heritage.

It should be noted that the 2018 season is being developed thanks to the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, which since 2016 has received part of its financing from the National Budget Glosa; in addition to the support provided by the University of La Serena, the Illustrious Municipality of La Serena, through its Department of Culture and the Municipal Theater; and on this occasion, special thanks to the Illustrious Municipality of Coquimbo and the Palace Cultural Center.

Source: La Serena University Symphony Orchestra

The second installment of the program cycle will be broadcast this Sunday on 94.5 FM in La Serena and Coquimbo.

This Sunday, October 14, at noon, Radio Universitaria FM will broadcast the second chapter of the program cycle titled: “Sixto Cortés Alcayaga, a figure of folklore in our University and the Coquimbo Region”, hosted by the professor and musician, Raúl “ “Talo” Pinto.

This cycle is part of a project by the ULS station, financed by the Social Media Promotion Fund of the Government of Chile and the Regional Council, which seeks to publicize the legacy of the teacher and musician, Sixto Cortés Alcayaga , who was director of the Folkloric Ensemble of the school for more than forty years and founder of the first university tuna in the region, the Tuna San Bartolomé.

The second installment of the program cycle will be broadcast this Sunday through 94.5 FM in La Serena and Coquimbo and its online signal: http://www.userena.cl/index.php/comunicaciones/radio-universita.

Project financed by the Social Media Promotion Fund of the Government of Chile and the Regional Council.

The Musical Festival that pays tribute to the great composer, will offer a series of free activities in the city of La Serena. The event will run until Friday, October 19.

With great guest artists and new interventions in the city of La Serena, the Mismar Cultural Association promises to captivate attendees with the second day of the Jorge Peña Hen Musical Festival. On this occasion, the regional event will offer a wide range of free activities, including a discussion, the screening of a documentary and a symphonic piano concert, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the death of the great composer and musical arranger.

The programming corresponding to Wednesday, October 17 will begin at 12:00 p.m. with the interesting Conversation: 'Foundation of the first Children's Symphony Orchestra of Chile and Latin America. A Serene legacy of Jorge Peña Hen', which will be presented by the exhibitors Lautaro Rojas, Angélica Gallardo and Gabriel Canihuante, who will tell from their experience and knowledge the project of Jorge Peña Hen, his ideals, anecdotes that explain the great work and legacy of the teacher.

Later, at 16:00 p.m., the documentary 'Jorge Peña Hen, his music and his children', made by Guillermo Milla, will be shown. According to the words of the administrative director of the Association, Gonzalo Godoy, the audiovisual tape “constituted a first approach to the public regarding the work of maestro Jorge Peña Hen, recounting his vast work and narrating how, through his management, collaborators and family, the project of the first children's and youth symphony orchestra in Latin America and the founding of the Music School that today bears his name began to take shape. This legacy has endured to this day and is what we intend to spread with the holding of this Festival developed by the Mismar Cultural Association.” Both interventions will take place in the facilities of the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library (Juan Latorre #782, La Serena).

The second day will culminate in the Mecesup Hall of the Music Department of the University of La Serena, at 19:00 p.m., with the sublime concert 'Works for solo piano': Sonate (JPH a. I), Polonaise (JPH a. II) and Prelude (JPH a. V), which were written by the maestro at a very early age, demonstrating his brilliant versatility as a born creator and marking an indelible musical precedent worldwide. The presentation will be given by the prominent Russian concert pianist and assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile, Svetlana Kotova, one of the most active piano performers in the country for her musicality, expressiveness, commitment to music, mastery and ductility in musical collaborations.

According to Svetlana, the program that will put the finishing touch to the second night of the Festival is made up of three piano compositions that were collected in the volume published by Mismar in 2017: “the interesting thing is that the first two were written when Jorge Peña Hen was only 17 years old. Despite using traditional language and form, it explores more contemporary melodic effects and turns; “Both the Sonata and the Polonaise show the influence of Chopin and they will be performed for the first time in public.”

In addition to these two absolute premieres, the acclaimed pianist also delved into the third work of said presentation: “this piece, unlike the previous two, is a product with its own and much more advanced language. It gives me special pleasure to be able to play this Prelude, since she had performed it for the first time at the request of the maestro's widow, Mrs. Nella Camarda, during the ceremony for the delivery of Peña Hen's archives to the National Library."

Finally, Kotova delved into the opportunity to be at such an unprecedented Festival, the first at the national level aimed at highlighting the lesser-known facet of the maestro, through extensive musicological research to rescue and recover 41 complete works, preparation of the sheet music catalogue, transcription , editing and publishing a large part of his creative work: “it is an honor and duty to participate in a cultural activity dedicated to the legacy of Jorge Peña Hen, since a musical life ended in such a tragic way deserves to be remembered endlessly. Maestro Peña built a musical world in La Serena that lives to this day, and continues to produce excellent artists who enjoy national and international prestige. It fills me with joy to be able to contribute to the dissemination of his piano work, within the framework of an event that celebrates his life and his creation.”

It should be noted that the event financed through the 2018 Music Funds, of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, and FNDR 2016 Competitive Culture Funds of the Regional Government of Coquimbo, will extend until Friday, October 19 with an attractive artistic program, in which regional groups such as the ULS String Quartet, the La Serena Wind Quintet, the ULS Vocal Ensemble and the University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra stand out, which will be conducted by the young baton national, Miguel Ángel Castro.

For more information about the Jorge Peña Hen Musical Festival, just visit the page www.culturamismar.org or visit and follow the associated social networks: fanpage and twitter @culturamismar.