The formation will interpret 60 works, of which three will be absolute premieres and one European

BILBAO, June 28. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Bilbao Municipal Music Band will present a total of 16 concerts between September 9, 2022 and April 28, 2023, which will take place at Azkuna Zentroa, the Euskalduna Palace, the Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga Conservatory in Bilbao and the Church of the Incarnation.

The 2022-2023 season, entitled “Sound Spaces” has been presented by the Councilor for Culture and Governance of the Bilbao City Council, Gonzalo Olabarria, who has been accompanied by the managing director of Bilbao Musika, Ana Madariaga; the principal conductor of the Bilbao Municipal Music Band, José R. Pascual-Vilaplana; and the deputy director, Iñaki Urkizu.

Pascual-Vilaplana will address twelve of the sixteen programs of the season and the Bilbao ensemble will also be directed by Mario Ortuño Gelardo, winner of the VI Meeting of Orchestral Conducting in 2022, as well as by the director of the Bilbao Sinfonietta, Iker Sánchez. Ligia Amadio will also act as director, and the deputy director of the Band, Iñaki Urkizu.

For its part, the VII Meetings of Orchestral Conducting, which will take place from January 10 to 13, will have the presence of the Swiss Isabelle Ruf-Weber as guest professor.

The Band will perform sixty works, of which three will be world premieres and one will be European. In addition, the training will once again receive various artists in its programming. In this way, as soloists Ernesto Aurignac (alto saxophone), Toño Miguel (double bass), Ramón Prats (drums), Diego Suárez (piano), Esteban Batallán (trumpet), Alberto Urretxu (trombone), David Abellán (euphonium), Iñaki Gurruchaga (piccolo), José M. Rochina (tuba) and Carlos Cano (flute).

Regarding the voices, Sol Antolín Herrero will act first as presenter in the first concert, followed by the soprano Olatz Saitua, the countertenor Carlos Mena, the baritone Toni Marsol, as well as Ainara Ortega and Noa Lur, among others.

“CARMINA BURANA” AND MUSIKENE

For the play “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff, the Band will receive the Orfeón Pamplonés in October, while the Per Poc puppet company will present a visual and poetic concert with the Band in November. In December the formation will close the musical year with a performance together with the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa (BOS) on the occasion of its Centenary.

The Band will maintain its commitment to Musikene and offer a concert in which the Bilbao Municipal Band will be accompanied by outstanding students from the centre.

This is, they have indicated, the eighth consecutive season designed by its titular and artistic director, José R. Pascual-Vilaplana, and will feature a total of 16 concerts that will take place at Azkuna Zentroa, Euskalduna Palace, JC de Arriaga Conservatory in Bilbao and the Church of La Encarnación.

AZKUNA ZENTROA

The first of the concerts of the 2022-2023 season will take place in the Azkuna Zentroa Atrium of Cultures and will be on Friday, September 9, starting at 7:00 p.m. Under the motto “The silenced memory”, it will be possible to see the absolute premiere of a work by María José Belenguer. The Band will be accompanied by the writer, teacher and philologist, Sol Antolín Herrero, who will act as presenter.

On Friday, September 23, the group will return to the stage at Azkuna Zentroa with the concert “Spaces of Light and Darkness” and will perform works such as “Twilight” by Roque Baños and “The Lord of the Rings” by Johan de Meij.

EUSKALDUNA PALACE

In October, the Bilbao Municipal Music Band will start its cycle of concerts at the Euskalduna Palace, where it will present a total of 11 recitals. The first date will be on Saturday, October 1 with “Carmina Burana”, a work that will be starred in the choral part by the soprano Olatz Saitua, the countertenor Carlos Mena, the baritone Toni Marsol and the Orfeón Pamplonés directed by Igor Ijurra.

It will be followed by “El rumor de la aurora” on October 23, in which works by Ferrer Ferrán, John Mackey, Philip Sparke, Marc Camphouse and Thomas Doss will be heard. On November 6, the Band will return to the stage with “Manos de vida” and on November 20 “E Jazz & +” will be presented. After this performance, on December 4, the concert “Encuentros con el jazz” will be offered.

On December 22 and 23, the Band will collaborate with the BOS in a performance on the occasion of its centenary, which will be the Christmas Concert of the 2022/2023 Symphony Season. The first concert of 2023, “Imágenes audibles”, will take place on January 22 at the Palacio Euskalduna and on this occasion the Band will have the collaboration of euphonium David Abellán.

The series of concerts at the Euskalduna Palace will continue on February 5 with “Brazilian Ventos”, while on February 13, the Band and director José R. Pascual-Vilaplana will be accompanied by piccolo Iñaki Gurruchaga and tuba José M. Rochina in the recital “Wind of spiral”. In addition, attendees will be able to see the world premiere of the play “Yorick” by Ginés Carrión.

On March 12, the Band will present its penultimate concert of the season at the Palacio Euskalduna Auditorium. Under the motto “Between the sea and the sky” works will be performed, including the European premiere of “Bailes españoles (Libro uno)” by Luis Serrano.

The Euskalduna Palace concert series will come to an end on Sunday, March 23, with “Spaces Between Winds”, in which the Band will be accompanied by the Musikene students. The concert will present “The happy slaves” by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, “Don Juan” by Richard Strauss, “Triptic per banda” by Armando Blanquer and a premiere work from the Musikene composition department.

JUAN CRISOSTOMO DE ARRIAGA CONSERVATORY

After the cycle of concerts at the Euskalduna Palace, the Band will move to the Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga Conservatory on Friday, March 24. The recital presents a journey through different cultures through music.

After this performance, the group will go to the Church of La Encarnación on Friday, March 31 with “Intimacy Spaces” and finally on Friday, April 28, the Band will return to the Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga Conservatory with “Imagining spaces”.

On the other hand, as part of the VII Orchestral Conducting Encounters, the Bilbao Musika International Conducting Award Contest is being convened in this edition, the closing concert of which will take place on Friday, January 13, at the J. Crisóstomo de Arriaga Conservatory in Bilbao.

José R. Pascual-Vilaplana will act as director and Isabelle Ruf-Weber, one of the best international batons, as guest professor and President of the jury. During this concert of the final phase of the contest, in which the Municipal Band will be conducted by the three finalist batons, it will be possible to listen to “La Bohème Suite” by Giacomo Puccini, “Poema Sanférmico” by J. Vicent Egea and ‘Lincolnshire Posy’ by Percy A. Grainer.