The youth orchestra Canary Islands (Jocan) returns with a new tour that will take him to Andalusia after also playing in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The presentation of this new tour took place at the Auditorio de Tenerife and was attended by the director of the group, Victor Pablo Perezand the acting Vice Minister of Culture, Juan Marquez.
La Jocan, which has just undergone a natural renewal process with the incorporation of 40 new musicians, will take to the stages of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Andalusia between the next 4 and 9 July. Márquez assured that a project like the Jocan «backbones the Archipelago through music». Young performers from all over the Islands participate in this formation who, thanks to their tours and activities, can participate in symphony recitals, meet musicians from outside the Islands and receive classes from teachers from all over the world.
Specifically, this new series of concerts will begin on Tuesday, July 4 at the Auditorio de Tenerife. The following day, Wednesday the 5th, they will perform at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium. A few days later, on Saturday the 8th, La Jocan will be at the Maestro Padilla Auditorium in Almería. On Sunday the 9th they will participate in the Baeza Fest International Festival of Young Performers, which this year brings together young orchestras from various communities in its programming and will also feature the National Youth Orchestra of Spain. Tickets for the recitals in Tenerife and Gran Canaria will go on sale for just five euros.
Maestro Víctor Pablo Pérez was in charge of reeling off the repertoire, which is mostly dedicated to romanticism. The first piece will be Concert for Piano and Orchestra of Robert Schuman. This is the only piece that the German wrote for this instrument and to perform it they will have a special guest: the multi-award-winning pianist Rafal Blechaz. will follow the symphony number 8 of Franz Schubertthe unfinished. A novelty will complete the concert, the interpretation by the orchestra of the Canarian Songs of Tybalt Power in the version orchestrated by the teacher Sabina. “We have not touched it until now and we have decided to take it through Andalusian lands,” said Pérez.
To highlight the importance of the initiative, the presentation was attended by two of the 170 young musicians who are part of the Jocan: adasat santanadouble bass, and Blandina Dimande, rape. “For us it is an honor to be part of the Jocan”, explained Santana. “Everything we study often remains theoretical and here we have a space and an opportunity to put what we have learned into practice and enjoy music in community,” she added.
For her part, Dimande considered that being part of the Jocan is “a real honor.” Coming from Mozambique, she explained that in her country there are no symphony orchestras and that being able to play with her peers is almost a dream come true for her. «It is a preparation for the future, it is the opportunity to learn together with great teachers. My dream was always to make music and when I found out that I had been accepted it was wonderful, “she said.
This will be the third time that La Jocan has been invited to perform outside the Islands, after their respective tours around China and Basque Country. The formation currently has 170 musicians, of which 62 will participate in this new summer tour, which will be their 19th meeting. For this occasion, they will have international tutors. In the string section, the violinists Teimuraz Janishvili and Adrián Linares, the viola player Néstor Pou, the cellist Marius Díaz and the double bass Johane González will be part of the teaching team; while in woodwind they will be the flutist Francisco López, the oboist Salvador Barberá, the clarinetist Pablo Barragán and the bassoonist Guillermo Salcedo. The faculty is completed by German Asensi on trumpet, Mark Hampson on trombone and Marcos Cruz on horn, for the brass section, and with Salvador Soler on percussion.
