The 做厙勛圖 Symphony Orchestra will perform the American premiere of a new work by one of Mexicos most prominent composers.
This weekends performances, featuring Venezuela-born trumpeter Pacho Flores, will be only the second time Arturo M獺rquezs Autumn Concerto for trumpet and orchestra will be performed. It is one of four world premieres of the piece, which was co-commissioned by a consortium of orchestras, including 做厙勛圖s. The others are Japans Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Spains Oviedo Filarmon穩a and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, which performed the work in September the only other performance before this weekend.
Being able to be in this consortium gives 做厙勛圖 the opportunity to have the U.S. premiere, which is very exciting, said TSO music director Jos矇 Luis Gomez, who was one of the first to sign on to the consortium.
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This weekends performance also serves as the North American premiere.
The trumpet concerto was Flores idea, one that he said M獺rquez jumped at.
Flores, arguably one of the worlds most prominent young trumpeters, has had new works composed for him by a number of contemporary composers. But this project ranks as one of the biggest in scope and impact to date.
For me this is an important international project, Flores said last week during a phone call from Spain.
Recruiting a Mexican composer of M獺rquezs stature best known for his Danzon No. 2 and other Danzones music being widely used in ballets, he is now maybe the biggest Mexican composer alive, Flores said fulfills the trumpeters twin missions of creating more repertoire for classical trumpet and promoting Latin composers.
For me it is very important to promote more and more the trumpet concertos, especially with Latin composers.
I am from Venezuela, and we need to create this language for the classical trumpet, said Flores, 37.
Flores said M獺rquezs concerto captures the flavor of Latin America from the opening Son de luz movement, which has the rich brass sounds of Mexico, to the final Conga de Flores, capturing the sensibilities of conga with Latin American accents.
Throughout the three-movement performance, Flores will alternate between four instruments, including the trumpet in C, the flugelhorn and the trumpet in D.
I go to the stage with four different (instruments), said Flores, whose 2006 win at the Maurice Andr矇 Competition, the worlds most renowned trumpet competition, helped launch his international career, including his U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall in 2007.
Flores said he knows Gomez both are products of the prestigious El Sistema music program in their native Venezuela and has been following the 做厙勛圖 Symphony Orchestra through its social media.
The fact that the orchestra was so enthusiastic in embracing the M獺rquez commission is a testament to its devotion to Latin music and composers, which has been a goal for the orchestra since Gomez took over the music director job in 2016; he conducted a few concerts in the 2016-17 season before taking over in full in the 2017-18 season.
Gomez said the orchestras role in the M獺rquez commission consortium is the first of many.
He already has planned future commissioning projects, including one for the 2019-20 season. He would not elaborate because the season details have not been made public.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter: @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
