Youth and talent were the ingredients of the eighth musical proposal of the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra.

Under the baton of the restless national director, Luis Toro Araya, the ensemble belonging to the Network of Professional Regional Orchestras of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage offered the community of the Province of Elqui an indelible musical journey. It was the VIII Concert of the 2018 Season, an event that consecrated the two brand new winners of the V version of the Regional Young Soloists Competition.

Joaquín Gómez Cerda, first place in the school category (guitar), and José Díaz Araya, first place in the university category (percussion), were the protagonists of this new presentation, who delighted the attendees of the Municipal Theater of La Serena with two interesting and diverse musical proposals: the 'Concerto in D Major for guitar and orchestra' by the Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi and the 'Xylophone Concerto' by the Japanese musician Toshiro Mayuzumi.

For the guitarist and 2nd year student at the Jorge Peña Hen Experimental School of Music, demonstrating his skill on the instrument accompanied by the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra “was a great opportunity for me, it would be a great honor if it were repeated again.” in some other context. Being able to share the stage with an orchestra as important as this is one of the most beautiful experiences I have had,” said the young winner of first place in the school category, who revealed that his next challenge as a concert performer is “to continue working on music; In fact, the next most important competition that he would apply to would be the 2019 Luis Advis Musical Composition Competition. That would be my next goal.”

The symphonic evening was also marked by the audacity of the percussionist José Díaz Araya, who set out to dazzle those present with the versatility and sonority of the xylophone: “I find that my objective of making this instrument known to the community was totally compliment; In fact, after my presentation, many people came up to me to congratulate me and talk about the xylophone, and now they see it as a great solo instrument. Furthermore, the audience really enjoyed this concert, they liked the xylophone and I loved that,” said the outstanding musician, who is preparing to audition for a series of competitions and, next year, manage to enter the University of Chile and perfect his skills. as a Percussion Performer.

One of the attendees who pleasantly enjoyed Mayuzumi's work was José Fernández Menéndez, a regular spectator of the professional orchestra's presentations, who commented: “I thought this concert inspired by regional talent was excellent, the two winners are great musicians. Personally, the presentation of the young university student made us see a new dimension, especially in the second movement of the percussion.” For Graciela Rojas Salfate, this concert “was a great recognition for our generations, you can see that they are young people with a lot of talent, passion and perseverance for what they do, they were able to transmit their love for music and that is very nice to see. This competition is a tremendous showcase for them and it is very positive that our regional orchestra ensures that this relationship is kept active.”

The programming of this VIII Season Concert also gave rise to two captivating pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Overture to the Opera 'Don Giovanni' and the Symphony No. 36 'Linz', which were conducted by another talented national promise, the conductor guest who triumphs in Switzerland, Luis Toro Araya. On his first musical visit to the Estrella Region, he indicated that “it was a pleasure to work with the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra, they do very serious and musical work, there is a great atmosphere and they are very willing to work. Without a doubt, it was a very interesting and quite complicated program, but everything went very well and I am leaving with a very positive balance of my stay in La Serena.”

Regarding sharing the stage with the winners of the Young Soloists Competition, Toro Araya added that “I love sharing with younger generations, personally, they have supported me a lot during my career; So, I am excited to be able to contribute with a grain of sand for these children who are just starting out.” Finally, the leader from San Vicente maintained that “these young people have every possibility of achieving great projects as musicians; Nowadays it is much more accessible to have the opportunity to travel to other countries and meet great teachers and, on the other hand, better and better instrumentalists come to Chile. As long as they maintain the same passion and the same energy that they have now, I believe that all their doors are open.”

These days, the Universidad de La Serena Symphony Orchestra is preparing to give life to the IX Season Concert, part of a new version of the MUSICAHORA Festival.

It should be noted that the realization of this 2018 Season, called 'The Symphony of Cultures', has the support and financing of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, through the National Budget Glosa since 2016; in addition to the collaboration of the University of La Serena and the Illustrious Municipality of La Serena, through its Department of Culture and the Municipal Theater.

Source: Press Symphony Orchestra University of La Serena