National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba to perform
Event set for Monday
TROY, N.Y. » The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba is coming to the Collar City for a special performance at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
The event, part of Troy Chromatic Concerts’ 121st season, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the hall, located at 30 Second St. in downtown Troy. A preconcert talk will also take place there at 6:30 p.m.
Organized in 1894 by students of Troy music teacher J. Albert Jeffery, the aim of Troy Chromatic Concerts is to bring musical programs of the highest caliber for the enjoyment of local audiences.
This time around, the group is presenting the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa and featuring clarinetist Antonio Dorta as well as violinist Ariel Sarduy.
The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba has its antecedents in the eighteenth century, when the Cuban cathedrals of Havana and Santiago de Cuba had a musical chapel made up of a small number of singers and instrumentalists. At the end of that century the Cuban priest composer Esteban Salas expanded the chapel of the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba until building a small orchestra. But it is not until the third decade of the nineteenth century that the first full-format symphonic orchestras were created in Cuba, a permanent institutional life and continuous programming. These orchestras were the Symphony Orchestra of Havana, founded in 1922 by Gonzalo Roig and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Havana, founded in 1924 and whose direction was initially entrusted to the Spanish musician Pedro Sanjuán. The existence of both orchestras generated by the emulation established between the two groups undeniable benefits for the musical culture at the time. The Symphony Orchestra of Havana maintained regular presentations in the first years of its life, but later its concerts became more spaced until disappearing in the last years of the 1940s.
On the other hand, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Havana maintained a stable program of concerts until 1958.
In 1959, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba was founded, belonging to the National Philharmonic of Cuba, and gave its first concert in 1960.
Since its creation, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba has developed a mission of disseminating Cuban and Latin American music, as well as covering a vast symphonic and chamber repertoire that ranges from the baroque to modern music.
More than 3,000 National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba concerts have been held between national and abroad performances in Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, Peru, Argentina, Martinique and Guadeloupe, along with regular seasonal concerts and symphonic programs.
In all these years, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba has been directed by more than a hundred national and foreign conductors.
Today, it is lead by Enrique Pérez Mesa, who holds the position of the principal conductor of the orchestra. This internationally-renowned maestro is currently an artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Our Time. He has led performances in prestigious concert halls throughout Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, South Korea and the United States, among numerous others.
His recordings include a Grammy Award Nomination for Salmo de Las Americas, in the category of Classical music; Concertos for Piano by Spanish composers, Five Concertos for piano and orchestra by Heitor Villa-Lobos, which was acknowledged with a great prize of the Cubadisco 2007. His DVD recording with the Cuban pianist, Frank Fernández, was nominated for the Cubadisco 2008. Maestro Mesa has also recorded music for Cuban and Spanish films.
Maestro Mesa’s conducting master classes have included trips to Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Spain. He has received the Pilgrim of the Millennium, granted by the mayor of Jerusalem as well as the Shield of the City of Sabaudia, Italy, and a Seal of Laureate of Distinction from the National Culture of Cuba.
A native of Matanzas, Cuba, Mesa majored in violin at the National School of Arts, where his teachers were Inna Kuznezova, and Billy Mokatzian. Later, he studied conducting with Guido López-Gavilán at the Instituto Superior de Arte.
On Monday, Mesa will conduct the concert at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, which is expected to include De Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat Suite #2, Carlos Farinas: Punto y Tonadas, Guido Lopez: Guaguanco, Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major K622 and Dvorak: Symphony #9.
Tickets, $45 or $55 each, are available at the venue box office, online at www.troymusichall.org or by calling 518-273-0038.