'Serenates' cycle continued on Saturday with the performance of Leoia Kantika Korala youth choir
Leoia Kantika Korala, conducted by Basilio Astulez, is one of the most prestigious international youth choirs. His performance on Saturday was accompanied by Christian García Marco on piano and Elur Arrieta on percussion. The concert started at 10.30pm in the Cloister of La Nau.
2 de july de 2016
The tickets can be purchased in: http://www.latenda.es/entrades
This choir left its artistic mark in Europe, America and Asia with countless concerts, festivals, tours, awards and discographic, radiophonic and televisual records.
Its artistic level, the excellent sonority and musicality, the innovative programming, and its colourful and dynamic staging are impressive.
It was created in 2000 at the Municipal Music School in Leioa. It is currently formed by 45 young music students from various specialties and ages.
Kantika has visited more than 15 countries, among which South Korea, China, Mexico or Iceland can me highlighted. They have also performed in several of the most important concerts venues and auditoriums in Europe. It also participates continuously over time and space with composers (it has released more than 20 written choral works by international authors), opera seasons, concerts and festivals cycles of great international relevance and reputation.
Its director, Basilio Astulez, was born in 1975 and holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country. He received his higher musical education in Vitoria-Gasteiz and he was trained as a conductor on the courses organised by the Basque Choral Federation, as well as by attending other courses and seminars in Spain and Europe
He has taught Choral Singing at the Municipal Music School in Leioa, where he founded the Leioa Kantika Korala youth choir, La Kantoria young women’s choir in 2005 and the SJB mixed-voice choir in 2007. This young choral school is attended by over 150 young signers between the ages of 7 and 25, and has already been honoured with numerous awards in Spanish and European competitions. In 2008, he was awarded the special prize for the best conductor at the 47th C. A. Seguizzi International Choral Competition in Gorizia, Italy, for his work conducting the Leioa Kantika Korala choir. In 2009, too, he received the special award for the best conductor at the 38th edition of the "Florilège Vocal de Tours" in France, for his work conducting the Vocalia Taldea chamber choir.
He currently teaches Choral Conducting for schools, universities and several choral federations throughout the country.
Serenates 2016
Serenates festival continues on the following days. On the 3rd of July, Orfeó Universitari de València, will present for the first time “Ad urbe condita” by Ramon Pastor and “Eroticitats” by Pau de Luis; both are natives of Valencia and have been resident composers of the grouping in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
On the 4th of July, the Generalitat Valenciana chorus, directed by Francesc Perales, will present the programme “Poesia al cor: del Tirant a la generació del 27” with love poems set to music.
On the 6th of July, the Valencia Orchestra will give a charity concert in which the participation of young musicians will be key. This concert is co-produced by Palau de la Música and is under the general direction of José Sanchís.
On the 7th of July, Colectivo Mortero, formed by Paula Miralles, Esther Vidal and Pilar Parreño, will put on a show called “La pell possible”. It is an interdisciplinary project of music, poetry, theatre and art which joins voices of poets such as Ausiàs March, Vicent Andrés Estellés, Marc Granell, Manuel Asensi, Begonya Pozo and Lola Andrés. This concert is co-produced with Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL).
Starting on the 8th of July, there will be concerts dedicated to “Música popular i les Serenates” the setting of which will be different: they will take place at Patriarca Square. These concert are performed as part of the “July Festival” organized by the Valencia city council.
The first of these concerts will take place on the 8th, and will feature los Tornejants and la Muixeranga de Algemesí. The dance and music show will start in the cloister and will later move toward the square where it will finish. La Muixeranga was declared by UNESCO to be Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011, and it is considered to be the best way to connect “Serenate” to its popular culture characteristics.
On the 9th of July, Urbàlia Rurana and la Romántica del Saladar will perform in concert called “La vespra i la festa”. Two of Valencia´s most emblematic bands come together to play all possible styles in the eve of the town celebrations: pasacalles, waltzes, jotas, pasadobles, folk dances and various kinds of folk songs.
On the 10th of July, la Joven Banda Sinfónica de la Federación de Sociedades Musicales de la Comunitat Valenciana (FSMCV), under the direction of Pablo Marcara, joins the singer Pep el Botifarra in the concert “Botifarra a banda” with arrangements for voice and folk music.
The foreseen participation in these 15 concerts consists of as many as 739 performers (250 more artists than in the previous edition), 518 of which are young people (younger than 26 years old). Another piece of important information is that 644 of 739 participating artists (87%) are natives of Valencia.
The “Serenates” festival has taken place since the year 1984 and is co-produced by Universitat de València, the directorate of Música de CulturArts and the collaboration of the Valencia city council, AVL, la Escuela de Arte y Superior de Diseño de Valencia, Bancaja Foundation and Sabadell Bank Foundation.
Another important news is the co-production of “Serenates” and the “July Festival” (thanks to the cooperation of Concejalía de Fiestas y Cultura Popular of the Valencia city council) in three concerts which will be performed in the Patriarca Square (between 08.07 and 10.07) and which are expected to be especially popular.