University of Navarra Symphony Orchestra Concert

  26 Nov
  19:30 h
  9 and 5€ (University of Navarra students)
MUN Theatre
 

The Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Navarra starts its 6th season with its traditional autumn concert. For this program, the orchestra once again organized a soloist competition among its members. After the success of the call, and with the aim of giving as many opportunities as possible, two soloists were selected: David Bergman and Fernando González.

Bergman will present the first movement of the Concerto for violin and orchestra in E m op. 64 by F. Mendelssohn, and González, the first movement of the Concerto for piano and orchestra in A m op. 16 by E. Grieg.

An opportunity to enjoy live symphonic music.

PROGRAM

E. Grieg: Concerto for piano and orchestra in A m op. 16

I. Allegro molto moderato

Fernando González, piano
 

F. Mendelssohn: Concerto for violin and orchestra in E m op. 64

I. Allegro molto apassionato

David Bergman, violin

I. Stravinsky: Suite from "The Firebird" (1919 version)

N. Rimsky-Korsakov: Spanish Caprice op. 34

BORJA QUINTAS. Director

The prolific conductor Borja Quintas has conducted some of the most important ensembles in the world, such as the London Symphony Orchestra or the New Russia Symphony Orchestra and has accompanied soloists of the stature of Plácido Domingo, Javier Camarena, Ainhoa Arteta or María Bayo. Strongly committed to young symphonic ensembles as a driving force for artistic and social change, he is currently Artistic Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Navarra and the Orquesta Sinfónica, Coro y Escolanía JMJ and develops his teaching activity at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón and at the Centro Superior Katarina Gurska, where he conducts the Master in Conducting. Trained entirely as a conductor at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, he develops his artistic activity mainly in Russia and Spain, although he has performed in most European capitals and in Middle Eastern countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia or Kyrgyzstan.

SOLOISTS

DAVID BERGMAN. Violin

He began his violin studies with his sister Christina Bergman at the age of six and was under her instruction for six years. At the age of twelve he was a student of Raffaela Acella for five years. During that time he won the Concurso Jóvenes Músicos de Euskadi in 2021 and 2023. He has had several master classes with teachers such as Eric McCracken and Kamran Omarli. Now he is a student of Aitzol Iturriagagoitia. The last three years he has been part of the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Navarra. 

FERNANDO GONZÁLEZ. Piano

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he began his piano studies at the age of nine at the Estudio de Música Guillermo Salvador-Rosalinda Preciado. Under the instruction of Xochitl Ruvalcaba he continued his studies until he arrived in Pamplona and joined the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Navarra. She is currently in her second year at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura. This concert is her first presentation as a soloist and her third participation with this orchestra.rimera presentation as a soloist and her third participation with an orchestra.

TEACHERS

NIKOLA TAKOV. Professor of high strings

Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Nikola began playing the violin at the age of five. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from Louisiana State University and his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Boston University. His principal teachers include Yuri Mazurkevich, Kevork Mardrossian and Dora Ivanova. Mr. Takov has performed on several occasions in the United States and Bulgaria in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. He has also performed in master classes, including those given by Yfrah Neaman, David Cerone, Joseph Silverstein, Camilla Wicks, Sergiu Luca, Charles Cattleman and Elmar Oliveira. Nikola is a founding member of the Kalistos Chamber Orchestra and was the concertmaster of the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra (2004-2009). He was also a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the Rhode Island Philharmonic (2001-2009). He is currently a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.

ALEJANDRO SAUL. Teacher of low strings

Cuban cellist Alejandro Saúl began his musical training at the Guillermo Tomás Conservatory in Havana and graduated in 2012 from the University of the Arts (ISA), where he studied with Gladys Lo and Juan Verdera. During her formative years, she excelled in chamber music, cello and composition competitions and festivals, winning significant prizes, such as second place in the National Cello Competition in 2009. He has been a soloist with all Cuban symphony orchestras and numerous chamber orchestras, expanding his repertoire from historical performance to jazz and electronic music, also collaborating with renowned international artists.

His career also includes musical composition and production. In 2015 he released his first solo album, an ambitious work that compiles compositions for cello and orchestra by Cuban composers such as Juan Piñera and Guido López-Gavilán. He has created significant arrangements, such as those for the Mass for Pope Francis in 2015, and his music has been performed in Cuba and internationally. Winner of the Igartza scholarship and other prestigious distinctions, he has worked in the Basque Country with renowned orchestras and continues to perfect his art under the tutelage of Asier Polo since 2017.

JOÄO PAIVA. Wind teacher

He began his professional studies at the Conservatory of Music of Coimbra and the Escola Profissional de Música de Espinho. In 2011, he began his higher education at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo. During this period he obtains several international awards: Young Artist Competition (Kansas, 2016), Vienna International Music Competition: Musikverein, Premium Paços Competition, Verão Clássico - Classical Summer and is accompanied as soloist by the Orquestra Clássica de Espinho and the Orquestra do Norte.

In 2017, he is invited to perform a recital at the opening ceremony of ClarinetFest, alongside soloists such as Eddie Daniels, Stanley Drucker, Michele Zukovsky, Richard Stoltzman, in Orlando-Florida, USA.

In 2020, he joined the class of Pascal Moragués at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía (ESMRS) to study the Master in Artistic Teaching of Music Performance in which he also obtained the highest mark. He has collaborated with several European orchestras, among them: the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre Symphonique du Théâtre Royal, the ORCAM and Sir András Schiff's Cappella Andrea Barca. He is currently clarinet soloist of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra.