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Auditorio de Tenerife is offering the eighth Hula workshop -the traditional Hawaiian dance- from 24 June to 5 July. Yurena Namahana approaches Hawaiian culture through its dance and music, and the workshop also offers participants the chance to learn songs, steps and the traditional costumes of this island in the Pacific. You can enrol by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There are three types for adults and one for children. A show is put on at the end of the workshop, at 9:00 pm on 5 July, so that participants can display what they have learnt. It will take place at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio and admission is free.

The classes for adult women, called Hula Wāhine, are on 24, 26 & 28 June, 1, 3 & 5 July and it is held at different times to suit all levels, although participants can enrol in all the workshops if they wish.

So, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm is the timetable for the advanced level - the Hula Kahiko- Ancestral Hula with a strong, vigorous dance in honour of King Kamehameha, the Great. On the same dates but from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, there is Hula for all levels, ‘Auwana, Contemporary Hula with a joyful, elegant dance on a beautiful place of Oʻahu.

Finally, Hula Keiki, is taking place on 25 & 27 June, 2 & 4 July, for children aged from 8 to 12. This is an ancestral dance about the beauty of the world dedicated to children. This activity is part of the Educational and Social Area of Auditorio de Tenerife, with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”.

In the Hula workshops participants will learn the Oli Aloha, an Aloha chant that carries the true feeling of the Aloha spirit; Hula basic steps and its Hawaiian names, accompanied by the Ipu Heke (a traditional instrument); and a whole Hula Kahiko: ancestral Hula or Hula ‘Auwana: contemporary Hula. You will also have the chance to buy a Hula dance skirt and Hawaiian Pareos.

Yurena Namahana was born and bred in Tenerife, Canary Islands, where aged two she went on stage for the first time, thus starting her dancing, singing and performing career. She lived in O‘ahu, Hawaii from 2006 to 2018 to connect with her Pacific roots. She studied ancestral Hula and in 2010 became the first Kumu Hula, Hula teacher of the Canaries and Spain.

She has danced and given Hula workshops in Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, Málaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.  Yurena Namahana has also led ceremonies for different dignitaries, including distinguished judges, the bishop president of the US episcopal church and the governor of Hawaii.

She has taken part in several major documentaries about Hula and for six years she was the Kumu Hula of a famous private school in Honolulu, teaching more than 350 students. Yurena Namahana currently shares the Aloha through the Hula in her classes and performances in the Canary Islands.

Cabildo de Tenerife’s cultural centre, Auditorio de Tenerife, opens today 19 June, the enrolment period to take part in the 2019-20 season Escuela del Espectador. The course is aimed at citizens who need not have prior knowledge but wish to improve on their skills in the artistic languages included in the programme offered at the Auditorio. This activity is part of the Tenerife 2030 strategy fostered by the Cabildo.

The main goal of the programme is to carry out a learning process that in the medium term enables participants to deepen their knowledge of the different aspects involved in opera, dance and music shows. It also gives them the chance to attend for free some of the events held at Auditorio de Tenerife with a view to motivating analysis and reflection, offering pre-show talks for each of the genres so that they become active audience members.

If you are interested in participating in the 2019/2020 course please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 2:00 pm on 10 July 2019 enclosing the following questionnaire once you have filled it in:

 Enrol now

Participants selected for the new Escuela del Espectador will be announced on 22 July.

The course starts on 10 September at 7:30 pm in Auditorio de Tenerife. During the year, meetings, which will take place once a fortnight at 7:00 pm and last for 90 minutes, will alternate sessions with the project coordinator, Iván Morales, and talks with artists and creators.

For the second year in a row, the Choral Camp is being held at IES La Laboral de La Laguna from 1 to 5 July. This summer training activity by Escuela Coral de Tenerife offers participants the chance to share learning through rehearsals, classes and a final concert to showcase everything they have learnt during the week.

To guarantee the quality of the experience, the Escuela has engaged teachers of international renown: Basilio Astulez, Esther Andueza, Juan Pablo Agudelo, María Claudia Peña and Paulo Vassalo.

Apart from the three choir groups to be divided by age from 8-year-old on, the Camp also features special activities for pianist wishing to train as accompanist, choral singers or conductors who wish to polish their conducting technique.

You can enrol until Monday, 24 June through a form on the Tenerife Artes Escénicas website, in the section Escuela Coral www.tenerifeartesescenicas.com/escuela-coral

The final concert, which is free of charge, will be held on 5 July at 7:30 pm at Salón de Actos of IES La Laboral.

Teachers

Juan Pablo Agudelo graduated in Musical Education from the Faculty of Arts in the University of Antioquía. He is also founder and principal conductor of the Ensamble Vocal Polimnia de Marinilla, general manager of the Choir Programme of the Rionegro Municipality and professor at the Faculty of Music of Fundación Universitaria Bellas Artes in Medellín.

Esther Andueza is a pianist and head of the Repertoire and Singing department of Conservatorio Profesional Arturo Soria de Madrid. She specialised in vocal accompaniment with different maestros in Spain and Italy.

Basilio Astulez teaches Choral singing at the Conservatorio Municipal de Leioa in the Basque Country. He founded the Leioa Kantika Korala children’s choir in 2001, the young women’s choir La Kantoria in 2005 and the mixed choir SJB in 2007. This young choir school, which has more than 200 singers of ages ranging from 7 to 25, has won numerous awards at Spanish and European competitions.

María Claudia Peña is director and teacher at the Coro de Intermezzo del Coro de Jóvenes de la Ciudad de Nueva York (Young People’s Chorus of New York City- YPC), made up by 130 choristers aged from 10 to 14. Its activities include, apart from the introduction to choral methodology in New York state schools with no resources, a programme that was recently acknowledge by the PASE organisation (Partnership of After School Educators), that rewards excellence in educators of out-of-school activities.

Paulo Vassalo Lourenço is a doctor in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati/College-Conservatory of Music and he currently teaches in the Higher School of Music in Lisbon. His teaching career has won him an international standing, so he has given courses in France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, Singapore, Israel and Turkey.

The Choir School and Camp are both initiatives of Cabildo de Tenerife under its Education and Social Areas and its Tenerife 2030 strategy with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social ‘la Caixa’.

El Auditorio de Tenerife programa el último espectáculo de la compañía del reconocido bailarín Hofesh Shechter, Grand Finale, que incluye  a un nutrido cuerpo de baile y una banda música que toca en directo. Las funciones serán los días 18 y 19 de septiembre en la Sala Sinfónica a las 20:00 horas y las entradas ya están a la venta.

Grand Finale es una pieza audaz y ambiciosa, que es a la vez cómico, sombrío y bello, evocando un mundo en conflicto consigo mismo, lleno de energía anárquica y comedia violenta. Filtrando este espíritu irrefrenable, Shechter crea una visión de un mundo en caída libre: parte concierto, parte danza, parte teatro y totalmente original.

La diversa tribu de extraordinarios bailarines internacionales de la compañía proviene de nueve países diferentes. Se trata de Robinson Cassarino, Chien-Ming Chang, Frédéric Despierre, Rachel Fallon, Mickaël Frappat, Natalia Gabrielczyk, Yeji Kim, Kim Kohlmann, Erion Kruja, Attila Ronai, Hannah Shepherd y Bruno Guillore, director artístico asociado.

La coreografía y música del espectáculo llevan la firma del propio Hofesh Shechter, mientras que la escenografía y el vestuario están diseñados por Tom Scutt. La iluminación corre a cargo de Tom Visser y colaboran con la música Nell Catchpole y Yaron Engler.

Grand Finale es el último trabajo completo de su canon, que se estrenó en La Villette con el Théâtre de la Ville de París el 14 de junio de 2017 y fue nominado al Premio Olivier a la Mejor Producción de Danza Nueva.

Las entradas pueden adquirirse en los canales habituales de Auditorio de Tenerife, en taquilla de 10:00 a 19:30 horas, de lunes a sábado excepto festivos, a través de www.auditoriodetenerife.com  o por teléfono en el 902 317 327.

Además de actuar, la compañía del bailarín israelí realizará un workshop con bailarines locales. Será el 19 de septiembre de 11:00 a 13:00 horas en el Auditorio de Tenerife y con un coste de 25 euros. Este taller está recomendado para bailarines mayores de edad de nivel semiprofesional y profesional.

Para inscribirse es necesario enviar un correo electrónico antes del 4 de septiembre a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. indicando la edad, género, experiencia y nivel como bailiarín, además de adjuntar un currículum y especificar si precisa de alguna necesidad especial o limitación a la hora de realizar el workshop.

El taller, liderado por dos bailarines de la compañía comenzará con un calentamiento para presentar el estilo de movimiento y preparar el cuerpo, seguido de una exploración del repertorio, donde los participantes aprenderán breves extractos de uno de los trabajos de Hofesh Shechter.

La compañía

Con sede en el Reino Unido pero actuando en los principales escenarios de todo el mundo, la compañía de Hofesh Shechter celebra e inspira la libertad del espíritu humano. Creen que la danza tiene la habilidad de prodigar, hurgar y explotar las emociones más profundas; una parte visceral del ser humano a la que rara vez se tiene acceso en la vida moderna.

“Bailamos para saber lo que se siente, no sólo para vivir, sino para estar vivos”, explica la compañía, que “en todos nuestros trabajos nos esforzamos por movernos a nosotros mismos, y a nuestras audiencias, más allá de la razón”.

Fundada en 2008, su repertorio incluye Levantamiento (2006), En sus habitaciones (2007), El arte de no mirar atrás (2009), Madre Política (2010), Madre Política: The Choreographer's Cut (2011), Sun (2013), Bárbaros (2015) y Grand Finale (2017). Han actuado en ciudades de todo el mundo como París, Nueva York, Melbourne, Tokio, Berlín, Tel Aviv, Roma, Seúl, Río de Janeiro y muchas más.

En 2018 la compañía vivió varios hitos: la continuación de la gira internacional de Grand Finale, un renacimiento de la producción de Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice de Hofesh en La Scala de Milán, codirigida por John Fulljames, y una gira internacional y británica de SHOW, realizada por la compañía de aprendices, Shechter II.

East Wall, el proyecto de desarrollo de talentos de cuatro años, culminó con un espectáculo a gran escala de danza y música en vivo en la Torre de Londres, en asociación con East London Dance, Historic Royal Palaces y LIFT.

El coreógrafo Hofesh Shechter es reconocido como uno de los artistas más excitantes que trabajan en escena hoy en día, conocido por componer partituras musicales atmosféricas para complementar la fisicalidad única de su movimiento. Es director artístico de la empresa británica Hofesh Shechter Company, fundada en 2008. La compañía es residente en Brighton Dome y Shechter es artista asociado de Sadler's Wells.

Shechter también ha escenificado y coreografiado obras en importantes compañías internacionales de danza, incluyendo el Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Ensemble, Candoco Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet y Royal Ballet Flanders. Ha coreografiado para teatro, televisión y ópera.

En 2018, Hofesh Shechter recibió el premio OBE honorífico del Imperio Británico por Servicios a la Danza y la primera película de danza de la compañía, Payasos de Hofesh Shechter, fue transmitida por la BBC en septiembre con gran éxito.

On Friday, the 21st Sinfónica de Tenerife is giving its season closing concert under the baton of its principal conductor Antonio Méndez. The event also features soprano Eleanor Dennis and baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. It is the first time both soloists perform with the Cabildo’s orchestra. The programme also includes the participation of two choirs: Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid and Coro Gulbenkian, the latter singing on the island for the first time too. Auditorio de Tenerife is hosting this programme that consists of A German Requiem, op.45 by Johannes Brahms.

Premiered in 1868, A German Requiem embodies the passage from musical Classicism to Romanticism apart from translating individual expression, as the author does away with Latin in favour of his mother tongue or offers his own interpretation of death. Brahms does without explicit connections to the Christian understanding of death, like the Last Judgment or eternal salvation. The composer is interested in death as a philosophical and vital issue, influenced by the death of his mother and his mentor, Robert Schumann, that took place within a short period. The issue raised in his work is how to live after the death of a loved one.

The composition starts as if emerging from an abyss where a choir is asking for comfort; then, the melody turns darker until it returns to the promise of future happiness. That is expressed in the second movement which, musically, is a funeral march. In the third movement, the baritone speaks directly to God and approaches the issue of the meaning of life as it was understood in the second half of the 19th century. That is why, Brahms is not asking God to forgive him but to hint at his future so that he can experience it to the full.  Clearly influenced by the philosophical movement championed by Schopenhauer or Nietzsche, Johannes Brahms pays no attention to the horror that the “end of life” caused in other composers like Mozart, as seen in his Dies Irae. Instead, his interpretation is that immortality consists of living on in the memory of future generations.

Antonio Méndez is becoming one of the most sought-after, established and fascinating conductors of his generation. This translates into the different connections he has established with the main orchestras in Europe, having conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, StaatskapelleDresden, Scottish Chamber Orchestra or Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

The Balearic conductor studied piano and violin at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Mallorca and then went on to study composition and conducting at Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. In 2012 he won the first prize at the prestigious competition Malko in Copenhaguen and in 2013, he was finalist in the Nestlé and Salzburg Young Conductors Award, which caught the attention of the general public.

Scottish soprano Eleanor Dennis trained at the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music and as Harewood Artist at the English National Opera. It was after her performances at the London Handel Festival, in the leading role of Rodelinda, when she started to attract more attention. Specialised critics were quite conclusive: “she has a marvellous future. I’m not sure I can ever remember one who so obviously deserves to be a star” (Fiona Maddocks, The Observer). In 2012 she played Costanza, by Riccardo Primo, where Hugh Canning described her as a “great talent”.

The German bass-baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann teaches at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and made his debut in 2000 at the Carnegie Hall with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Barenboim. Hanno was a member of the Staatsoper Berlin from 1998 to 2011. He has also performed in the Baviera, Hamburg and Vienna State Operas in addition to San Francisco Opera. He has been praised by the international press for the different recitals he has given in festivals in Berlin, Graz, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Paris, Laussane, and at London’s Wigmore Hall, at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade or at the Edinburgh Festival.

Recognised as one of the best and most versatile Spanish choirs, the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid is back on the island thirteen years after their last visit. This prestigious group was set up in 1984 and is currently directed by choirmaster Félix Redondo. Its wide range of activities include a capella recitals and with orchestra, participating in opera productions or in recording studios. Its growing prestige has led them to perform on the main Spanish stages and on many abroad, including Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, China, Japan, Morocco or Mexico.

Coro Gulbenkian, their first time on the island, was set up in 1964 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It has 100 singers and is currently led by choirmaster Jorge Matta. Their repertoire encompasses the classical symphonic choral, Romantic, and contemporary although they also perform a cappella. The choir has been invited to collaborate with major international orchestras and conductors like Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Emmanuel Krivine, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Frans Brüggen, Franz Welser-Möst, Gerd Albrecht, Michael Gielen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, René Jacobs or Leonard Slatkin.

Tickets for this last concert are available at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday; by telephone on 902 317 327; or on the websites www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and www.auditoriodetenerife.com.

The Mercado de las Artes Performativas del Atlántico Sur, MAPAS 2019, [South Atlantic Performing Arts Market] completes its programme with the participation of 166 artistic groups and agencies from 35 countries coming to this international event to be held in Tenerife from 10 to 14 July. Heads of programming, curators, artistic directors and cultural managers can register until Saturday, 15 June.

All the companies, artists and music groups who have confirmed attendance are taking part in the business meetings and 60 of them, coming from 24 countries, have been also selected to perform before audience and programmers in sample shows to be put on in these five days at different venues in Santa Cruz: Auditorio de Tenerife and surrounding areas, Teatro Guimerá, La Granja Espacio de Creación and IES Alcalde Bernabé are some of the locations chosen for theatre, dance, circus, street art and music performances. Like in previous years, more than 20,000 people are expected to attend these shows.

TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes and Museo de la Naturaleza y la Arqueología complete the market’s venues. These places are hosting the speed business meetings and a busy programme of training activities and debates that will feature internationally relevant speakers and meetings with professionals of institutions related to music and the performing arts from all over the world.

MAPAS 2019 -organized by Cabildo de Tenerife, unahoramenos and Circulart- this year includes booking, management and distributions agencies. A total of 33 companies of this kind from 12 countries have been selected. They are taking part in the business meetings to be held on 12 and 13 July, with artists from Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe and programmers from any country.

As for the artistic and musical groups, they come from many different places: 64 are from Southern Europe (Spain and Portugal), 24 of which will be offering shows; 45 artists and musicians come from Latin America, with 18 performances; and 24 participants come from Africa with 18 of them performing before the audience and the programmers. MAPAS 2019 will welcome creators from Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Venezuela, Egypt, Ghana, Ruanda, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Cameroon or Madagascar, among others. The confirmed artists and the programmers feature on the MAPAS website www.mapasmercadocultural.com

MAPAS will once again make Tenerife an international spot for the performing arts and music, taking up the main cultural venues in the city in a venture than combines professional management and artistic exhibition, training and analysis with the aim of giving international scope to the proposals of creators from Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe and strengthen the structure of creative industries.

Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes at 12:00 noon on Sunday, 16 June the closing concert of the fifteenth Primavera Musical series, which was started by the Federación Tinerfeña de Bandas [Tenerife Bands Federation] with the collaboration of the Cabildo. After giving eleven concerts, the series ends by offering a concert performed by

Banda Insular de Música de la Federación Tinerfeña under the baton of Juan Antonio Rancel Tejera.
The programme starts with Cavalliers Templaris, by José Luis Peiró Reig. The 75 musicians who currently make up the ensemble will go on to play Música y vinos, by Manuel Morales Martínez, followed by José Alberto Pina’s Ghost Ship. Finally, the band closes their performance with Cry of the last unicorn, a composition by Rossano Galante.

The history of this ensemble goes back to the year 2000 when the assembly of the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife first put forward the idea of setting it up. It was eventually established in 2001 featuring 70 musicians from the federated bands of the island of Tenerife.
Shortly after making their debut and with Agustín Ramos Ramos as their first conductor, the band played in Valencia. Later, under the baton of José Manuel Encinoso Fernández, in 2003 they gave concerts in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. In 2004 their third series started with conductor Maximiano Vera Regalado, and they performed in Tenerife and Lanzarote.

On 3 April 2005 the Banda played at the Auditorio de Tenerife, starting the Primavera Musical series, which is organised by the Federación Tinerfeña and has the collaboration of the Island’s Cabildo. Several conductors have led the band since then and they have given concerts in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca.

After conductors like José Luis Peiró Reig, José Andrés Sabina Fariña, Miguel Angel Expósito Marrero, Santiago Javier González Flores, Juan Antonio Domínguez Martín, José Hernández Toledo and Jesús Agomar Guillarma, the Band is currently made up by around 100 musicians from different Federation member bands and it has been directed by Juan Antonio Rancel Tejera since August 2018.

El Festival de Música Antigua de Tenerife (Fimante), a través de su ciclo Nova Ars Organorum, ofrece un concierto el sábado [día 15] a las 19:30 horas en el convento de Santa Catalina de La Laguna. La organista Ana Aguado hará sonar los dos instrumentos del templo con el programa El órgano alemán entre los sonidos del siglo XVII y del siglo XVIII. La entrada es libre hasta completar aforo.

La directora artística del ciclo, Rosario Álvarez, asegura que “el convento de Santa Catalina de La Laguna se presta como ningún otro templo de la isla a mostrar una paleta de obras organísticas que van desde el siglo XVI hasta finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX al poseer dos buenos ejemplares de la organería germana: uno de Joachim Richborn del siglo XVII y otro de mediados del siglo XVIII”.

Por ello el programa se va a compartir entre ambos. Sweelinck, Reincken y Kerll, representando a las escuelas germánicas del siglo XVII, abren el programa de este concierto en el que, de igual manera se aborda algunos de los géneros más característicos de la época: desde el stylus fantasticus de la toccata o la fantasía con eco, al pasacalles, tiento o canarios de origen español.

En la segunda parte, la elección se decanta por obras de compositores del siglo XVIII, comenzando por el hijo mayor de J. S. Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, para a continuación viajar a España y escuchar obras de cuatro de los organistas más destacados de la Capilla Real madrileña como fueron José de Torres, Sebastián de Albero, José Lidón y el italiano Domenico Scarlatti.

Ana Aguado nació en Palencia en 1984, estudió órgano y piano con Roberto Fresco, Miguel del Barco y Aurora Dalleres respectivamente, en el Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Palencia. Posteriormente estudió órgano con Óscar Candendo en la Escuela Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), realizando su Proyecto Final Widor y la escuela organística francesa del siglo XIX bajo la tutela de Luca Chiantore.

Paralelamente, se ha especializado en diferentes estilos de música de órgano con grandes figuras europeas como B. Haas, O. Latry, P. Crivellaro, J.-C. Zehnder, D. Roth, L. F. Tagliavini, W. Zerer, M. Radulescu, L. Lohmann, E. Kooiman, A. Cea Galán, E. Belloti, J. Martín Moro, B. Leigthon, M. Torrent y J. Laukvik.

Tras su formación en Barcelona, realizó un Máster de Órgano en el Conservatorio Sweelinck de Ámsterdam bajo la dirección de Jacques van Oortmerssen. Posteriomente se trasladó a Francia para estudiar con Michel Bouvard y Jan Willem Jansen en el CRR de Toulouse, quienes le otorgaron el Premio François Vidal al finalizar sus estudios.

Ha ofrecido conciertos en importantes festivales de música (Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Festival Internacional de Santander, Festival de Música Antigua de Barcelona, Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca), tanto españoles como extranjeros (Francia, Italia, Holanda, Alemania, Rumanía y Filipinas).

Durante cuatro cursos, de 2014 a 2018, fue profesora de órgano del Conservatorio Superior de Música de Málaga. Actualmente desarrolla su labor docente en el Conservatorio Profesional de Música de León.

Next Sunday enjoy the most outstanding arias of the operas being performed next season

Ópera de Tenerife has scheduled for 12:00 noon on Sunday, the 16th, an opera titbit in the square outside TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes where you can enjoy some of the pieces from productions to be performed next season.

Singers include soprano María José Torres; mezzo soprano Sandra Ferrández; tenor David Astorga and baritone Borja Molina, accompanied by the piano of maestro Borja Mariño. The event will be presented by Alejandro Abrante, intendant of Ópera de Tenerife.

The arias we will enjoy this time are by Donizetti, Verdi, Handel and Sorozábal and include ‘Ardir! Ha forse il cielo… Obbligato! Ah, sí! Obbligato!’ and ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ [L’elisir d’amore]; ‘Caro nome’ and ‘La donna è mobile’ [Rigoletto]; ‘Vieni, la mia vendetta’ and ‘Il segreto per esser felici’ [Lucrezia Borgia]; ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ [Rinaldo]; ‘Parigi, o cara’ [La traviata] and ‘No puede ser’ [La tabernera del puerto]. At the end of the show we can all enjoy an aperitif.

This activity, which was first started last season, aims at spreading the love for opera by taking it to different venues across the island of Tenerife. In previous occasions these get-togethers have taken place in the municipalities of Puerto de la Cruz, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Güímar and Santa Úrsula. This is the first opera titbit Ópera de Tenerife is offering in Santa Cruz.

Cantaor José Mercé and guitarist Tomatito are taking over Cabildo’s Auditorio de Tenerife on Saturday, the 15^th at 9:00 pm. Their show De verdad is on at Sala Sinfónica where they are presenting a new joint record in which they champion flamenco as music and culture.

José Mercé and Tomatito two old friends whose paths have often crossed and have again had the same idea: making a record together and going on tour to take their music to major stages in the world.

Tomatito, guitarist and producer of the record explains that “in De verdad we play all the palos flamenco is fortunate to have: tangos, alegrías, seguiriyas, soleás, bulerías, granaínas…”. The musician says that “I’ve never strayed away from flamenco, although I do other things, it always sounds like flamenco and we always defend it”. “I’ll be a flamenco man till the day I die”, he stated.

José Mercé shares the same idea as he reflects on other features of his career: “We were both born flamenco, to very flamenco families and if I sometimes sing pop it’s because I’m making a different story at that time”. “Singing a song like Al alba as a cantaor, or my duet record is something else altogether but it’s not flamenco because flamenco is what we’ve recorded in “De verdad”, he points out.

Tickets are available at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except holidays; on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

The roots of purest flamenco are revealed in this record. The collection of songs composed by Kiki Cortiñas permits both maestros to show off their talent. “That’s something we’ve got to do, we’re not newcomers and we know how to give our best in the studio”, Tomatito says.

Mercé and Tomatito, have individually done pop, jazz or modern classics. They have both reached the top in every style, but they felt the artistic need to return to their musical origins.

Tomatito admits that “I’m privileged to have been born in this period, having lived with the classics and with those who have made me evolve”. “I’m proud and happy at having experimented with jazz, with modern, with the heirs of Django Reinhardt and Gershwin, with Michel Camilo… But being nominated for a Grammy with Camilo, was for best jazz, fusion or instrumental record, not for flamenco”.

The Festival de Música Contemporánea de Tenerife (FMUC) continues celebrating its tenth birthday by offering Translating, a concert by Agwal Percussion Group, that includes pieces by Ravel, Varèse, Stravinsky, Metheny and Francis Hernández, who is also conducting the concert to be performed with percussion instruments. It is taking place on Thursday, the 13 at 7:30 pm at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio de Tenerife. There is a pre-concert talk at 6:30 pm to inform about the background of the group and their music.

Agwal Percussion Group aims at highlighting the new role of current percussion by carrying out different programmes on contemporary music. At the turn of the 20^th century social and artistic changes came about, including the liberalization of sound and the emancipation of percussion that went from being accompanying instruments to having a new role: percussion as a solo instrument.

This family of instruments faces new sound challenges by offering a huge range of texture and colour. Translating proposes a different approach to compositions that were originally written for other instruments and that are part of the 20^th century repertoire.

This programme includes Ionisation, by Edgard Varèse, as an acknowledgement to the said emancipation as this was one of the first pieces that was purposefully composed for this family of instruments.

Tickets are available at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except holidays; on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or calling 902 317 327.

The percussion ensemble was set up at the Tenerife base of Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias, their main goal is to show the specific percussion repertoire in Spain. The group is made up by all the percussion students of the conservatoire and conducted by their teacher Paco Díaz, director of FMUC.

In the last year, its current members have given countless concerts in different municipalities and cities in Tenerife, La Palma and Lanzarote, and in cities in mainland Spain like Madrid, Valencia, San Sebastián or Zaragoza.

They also play as quartets and have received several awards as for instance, the first prize at the Concurso de Música de Cámara María Orán and the first and second prize at the VI Concurso Internacional de Música de Cámara de Percusión en el Festival de Percute 2018 de Catarroja, Valencia. The ensemble has also premiered musical works like A través del espejo by Francisco Hernández, or Después del mar by Cecilia Díaz.

The members of the current group are Gabriel Díaz Santos, Miguel Pérez Valadés, Alberto Bercial Ruiz, Andrea Melián Alayón, Nelson Hernández López, Rocío González Romero, Álvaro Muñoz Triviño, Antonio Rodríguez Acosta, Marta Rosa Díaz, Vicent Venavent Estévez, Víctor Hugo Hernández Arencibia and Ian Piniés Ramirez.

Francis Hernández will be conducting the performance. Pianist and composer, Hernández is regarded to be an eclectic musician who has alternated teaching with composition and musical direction. He was born in La Orotava, where he started to study piano and trumpet to then go on to further his education at Conservatorio Superior de Música de Tenerife. In 1996 he attended an intensive course at Berklee College of Music and in 2014 he studied composition at Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias. He has been part of different jazz and popular music bands since the mid-1990s.

From 2004-2008 he worked as musical director for RTVE and Televisión Canaria. Since 2010 he has been part of different projects by producer Pablo Cebrián and has written music for animation series and short films and has also arranged and orchestrated different national productions. Between 2014-2018 he was the musical director at Auditorio de Tenerife of the musicales Jesucristo Superstar, Evita and Sunset Boulevard. In this last phase, he also conducted Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife in two concerts for Fiestas del Cristo de La Laguna (2016 and 2018).

On Friday, 14 June Sinfónica de Tenerife is giving its eighteenth season concert entitled “La Romántica de Bruckner”, to be conducted by German Karl-Heinz Steffens and featuring French violinist Michael Barenboim as guest soloist. It is the first time they perform on the island. Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes this new programme that consists of two compositions: Violin Concerto by Alban Berg and Symphony nº4 in E flat major “Romántica” by Anton Bruckner.

German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens will lead Cabildo de Tenerife’s orchestra after having conducted major groups like Sinfónica de la Radio de Baviera, la Filarmónica de Berlín, la Filarmónica de Helsinki, la Filarmónica de los Países Bajos or Zurich’s Tonhalle. Steffens is highly regarded both in the opera and symphonic world and under his baton Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz was highly praised and won him the ECHO award for Best Orchestra in 2015. In the 2016-2017 it took the award for the Best Concert Programme in the Season, awarded by Deutsche Musikverlegerverband.

The virtuoso skills displayed by French violinist Michael Barenboim in his concert has been labelled by critics as “astonishing”, “exciting” or “utterly convincing”. He is an instrumentalist who is committed to the classical repertoire and the traditional Romantic, although he is also known for his interpretations of 20th century and contemporary compositions for violin. In the present season he made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker playing Schönberg’s Violin Concerto. He has also performed at the Enescu Festival with Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy, been on tour with Israel Philharmonic and G. Noseda. In addition to playing with BBC Philharmonic, Den Norske Opera Orchestra, Kölner Kammerorchester, Freiburg Philarmonic, Korean Chamber Orchestra.

Violin Concerto by Alban Berg was premiered in 1936 and it was originally to the memory of Manon Gropius, daughter of Alma Mahler (Gustav Mahler’s widow) and Walter Gropius (one of the founders of the Bauhaus), who died in 1935 from polio. Destiny paradoxically had this composition dedicated to the memory of the composer himself who was to die shortly after. The piece, described as one of the most breathtaking compositions in the 20th century, starts with the open strings of the violin which is answered by a harp andante, producing an intimate and intriguing first part. The second part starts with a somewhat grotesque theme in the clarinets, which is answered by the violin. The composer tries to trap here the joy of young Manon and with a touch of nostalgia, the end of the Viennese world of waltzes and Ländler.

Austrian Anton Bruckner deciphers musically through Symphony nº4 in E flat major “Romántica”, the life of a town in a forest with the horn announcing the start of the day, the march of hunters or the trilling of a coal tit. The second and third movement, according to Bruckner himself, is a love scene in a rural environment and a hunting expedition interrupted by a popular dance. Although this is not evident at sound level as the second movement is quite more tragic than it would be expected for a love scene. The last movement, called “popular festival” [Volkfest], it is not evidently festive, just hinting at it in the first and third movements, thus giving unity to the symphony.

Tickets for this concert can be purchased at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday; by telephone on 902 317 327; or on the internet on websites www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and www.auditoriodetenerife.com.