Christmas Concerts coming back in December by the main university groups
The traditional Christmas Concerts, organised by the UV Music Club through the Area for Musical Activities from the General Foundation of the Universitat de València, came back to normal along with other cultural events. They took place in December in different venues and towns thanks to the main university groups: UV Philharmonic Orchestra, Orfeó Universitari de València, UV Choir School La Nau and Choral Club La Nau Gran of the Universitat.
27 de december de 2021
All these groups offereda programme with seven performances, which started on the 3rd in Benigànim with theOrfeó Universitari de València, led byFrancesc Valldecabres. The Orfeó's programme continued last Sunday 19th in the Santos Juanes Church (Market Square, València),with the most classic concert of the Valencian Christmas, ‘El món canta davant un bressol’, one of the most long-established recitals in the musical scene of the city of Valencia, with more than60 editions and a single topic: the celebration of Christmas with an always surprising repertoire that includes Valencian compositions and from all over the world.
Choir School and Choral Club
As tradition dictates, these two university musical groups, led byMònica Perales i Massana, and with Eduard Marquinaon the piano, also took part in the Christmas Concerts.
The Choir School La Nauof the Universitat de Valènciagave its Christmas performance on Monday20th, at the Joan Plaça Concert Hall of the Botanical Garden. The choirsMestral, Garbí andTramuntana sang popular Valencian carols with arrangements by Maria Martorell, Josep CrivilléandMaría Teresa Jiménez. The programme ended with the shared song ‘Cambiar el mundo’ byJimPapoulis, bringing all coral groups on stage.
On the other hand, theChoral Club La Nau Gran of the Universitatde Valènciaperformed on Thursday 23rd,at the Cloister ofLa Nau, with a traditional repertoire, but no less varied, of carols such as ‘Dindirindín’, ‘La Nit de Nadal’ or ‘A tots unes bones festes’, apart from original versions likeJohn Lennon's‘Imagine’.
The Orchestra's Christmas Concert
As every year, thePhilharmonic Orchestra of the Universitat de València participatedin the Christmas season in two occasions: in Gandiaand in the city ofValencia. Beatriz Fernández Aucejo conductedfor the fourth year this festive event, firstly with the public of Gandia and secondly with the Valencian.
Last Thursday 16th,the Serrano Theatre of Gandia hosted the carols performance and, in Valencia, the Orchestra's concert closed the musical programme of the season on the 23rd Decemberat the Charles Darwin Hall of the Burjassot-Paterna Campus. It hadtwo parts: the first one, with the‘Concert Valencià’ byAndrés Valero Castells (1973) for clarinet and orchestra, which includedthemovements ‘Cant mediterrani’, ‘Somni d’estiu’ and‘Cròniques de la Pobla’, with the participationof the clarinettistLuis Fernández Castelló; and a second one with the performance of the piece ‘Vltava (The Moldau)’, byBedrich Smetana (1824-1884).
The young clarinettist Luis Fernández Castelló is one of the most outstanding of his generation. He has developed an intense career as a soloist and a chamber musician, which has led him to important national and international festivals such as the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, the Cuenca Religious Music Week, the Mediterranean Biennial of Contemporary Art or the Valencia Ensems Festival, among others.