THE COMPOSER JUAN GONZALO GÓMEZ DEVAL WILL ALSO BE HONORED
The best band music in the world will once again be present within the framework of the Fira i Festes de Sant Miquel de Llíria, with the traditional Concert of the Bands that will star the Ateneo Musical y de Enseñanza Banda Primitiva and the Unió Musical de Llíria Symphonic Band . The event will be held next Saturday, September 24, at 10:30 p.m. in the Plaza Major.
José Rafael Pascual Vilaplana will be the Honorary President of this 2022 edition. Since 2015, he has been the principal conductor of the Bilbao Municipal Band and since 2018, he shares ownership with the Barcelona Municipal Band. He has conducted different bands and orchestras all over the world, and has worked with renowned soloists such as Sergei Nakariakov, Pacho Flores, Manuel Blanco, Elisabete Matos, Asier Polo, Claudi Arimany, Juan Pérez Floristán or Estrella Morente, among many others. . In addition, he is a composer of different works for band, choir, dolçaina, stage music and chamber music.
This prestigious director from Muro de Alcoy has amassed a large number of awards, including the 1st “Batuta de Oro” Prize at the WMC Kerkrade (Holland) Conducting Competition in 1997; the 1st “Batuta de Honor” Prize at the EBBA Conducting Contest in Birmingham (England, in 2000. the Euterpe award from the Federation of Musical Societies of the Valencian Community in the categories of Band Conducting and Composition of Music for the Festival; the “Ignacio Morales Nieva” National Music Award from the Castilla La Mancha Music Festival; or the Maitena Award from the Bilbao Choral Society for his career.
In the Concert of the Bands, there will also be a tribute to the renowned composer in the world of the symphonic band, Juan Gonzalo Gómez Deval. Born in Benissanó, he has composed commissioned works both for compulsory interpretation and free choice, for different international competitions. He is in possession of the 2006 Euterpe Prize for the composition of symphonic music, for his work “Muralles”.
In addition, he is an arranger, record musical advisor, lecturer on his music, professor of instrumentation and transcription in conducting courses, and is regularly invited as a qualifying jury in competitions for bands both nationally and internationally.
The Councilor for Music, Pedro Vicente, has highlighted that the Concert of the Bands “is the great musical event of our municipality that brings together our two prestigious groups on the same stage, an example of the artistic excellence of our musical societies, and that it is one of the reasons why we are recognized as a Creative City of Music by UNESCO. And where, in addition, every year we want to recognize the work of figures in the field of direction and composition, such as those honored in this edition”.
Concert program
The Banda Primitiva, under the baton of Javier Enguídanos, will open the act with two works by Gómez Deval, the pasodoble “Mari Carmen Desco” and “La Batalla de Rande”, and will close its performance with “Jaque Mate” by Artur Bliss.
In the second part, the Unió Musical, which will have José Miguel Rodilla as its guest director, will perform “Tres Smiles” and “Dragón Elliot” by Gómez Deval, “Divertimento” by Leonard Bernstein, to conclude with the Hymn of Llíria and that of the Valencian Community.
