Performance with PRSO of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Strass’ Till Eulenspiegel and the world premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Poema y Danza; Yoav Talmi, conductor. 8pm, Centro de Bellas Artes. Guest artist Nancy Ambrose King, also current president of the International Double Reed Society was soloist with Frances Colón, principal oboist of the PRSO.

On December 9th I performed Francisco Mignone’s Concertino for bassoon and chamber orchestra with the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music orchestra with Roselin Pabon, director. Thanks to the students for their work and a wonderful performance. My son Joakim really seemed to enjoy it as he was heard cheering for daddy, during the performance.

Season concert number 4 of the 2007-08 season with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra included Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Bartók’s Concerto for Viola and Kodály’s Danzas de Galanta. Jaime Amador, a violist in our section was the soloist and played brilliantly. Guest conductor Steven Smith directed. The concert took place November 14th at Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan.

Performance of Alborada del gracioso by M. Ravel with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and director, Maximiano Valdes. November 3, 2007 in Centro de Bellas Artes. Also on the program were Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2 with Arnaldo Cohen, Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, Op.32, Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. The concert’s guest conductor, Maximiano Valdés is one of the candidates for the musical director position of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. Valdés did wonderfully precise work with the orchestra and it was a pleasure to perform with him.

On Sunday, October 21st I had the pleasure of performing the world premiere of a new work for bassoon and bongo by the Puerto Rican composer Alfonso Fuentes (b. 1954). Maestro Fuentes is on faculty at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music where he teaches piano and composition. His extremely creative and unique works are well known in Puerto Rico and it is my hope they will gain popularity abroad. Listen to the performance.

Program notes from the performance by the composer.

Mejunje del fagobongo, written in 2006, is a commission of Saxton Rose to whom the composer has dedicated the work. This instrumental combination, used for the first time, demands an ample technical dominance from both instrumentalists. While the bassoon explores the extremes of its sonorous reach with passages that go from slow to very fast, the bongo drum uses a rumba bongo style at times and techniques such as independent doubling and redoubling.

The states of the sonorous relief define different atmospheres or sections that lie interconnected between, with or without transition, like part of the general organic thematic development. This relief is part of a polytonal harmony in the sense that it contains pitch and pan-tonal spaces together with poly-rhythmical activity. The name of the work was inspired by the “collage” of elements in the piece, “mejunje” meaning collage or mix in Spanish.

The pianist, composer and poet Alfonso Fuentes (1954) is a member of the faculty of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.

Mejunje del Fagobongo, escrita en 2006, es una comisión de Saxton Rose a quien el compositor dedica. Esta combinación instrumental, utilizada a saber, por primera vez, exige un amplio dominio técnico de parte de ambos instrumentistas. Mientras el fagót explora los extremos del alcance sonoro y pasajes que van desde lentos hasta muy rápidos, el bongó, tratado en ocasiones a la usanza de los bongoseros rumberos, utiliza técnicas que incluye el redoble doble independiente.

El pianista, compositor y poeta Alfonso Fuentes (1954) es miembro de la facultad del Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

Camerata Caribe, the resident wind faculty chamber ensemble at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, performed a concert in Sala Sanromá at the Puerto Rico Conservatory Sunday, October 21th. The concert included two world premiere performances including Memorias del Compay Hugo for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano by Alberto Rodríguez Ortiz and Mejunje del fagobongo for bassoon and bongo by Alfonso Fuentes. More information on this work, including a recording and video can be found here.

Also on the program were The arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Georg F. Händel for two oboes and piano; Sonata no. 5 in F major by Jan Dismas Zelenka for 2 oboes, bassoon and basso continuo; Sonata in a minor for clarinete and piano by Jack Delano.

Camerata Caribe is Diana Figueroa, piano; Kathleen Jones, clarinet; Frances Colón, oboe; Saxton Rose, bassoon; with guest artists: Andrew Lázao, bongo; Alyssa McKeithen, oboe; José García, bass.

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra; soprano, Anna Netrebko and bass-baritone, Erwin Schrott, Plácido Domingo directing. The concert took place in the Sala de Festivales del CBA Luis A. Ferré, Tuesday, October 9th. The repertoire consisted of opera arias and duets.

Performance with the Puerto Rico Symphony of Brahms’ Second Symphony in D Major, Op.73 with Manuel Hernández Silva, director. Also on the program was Roberto Milano’s Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with our principal clarinetist, Kathleen Jones and Joaquín Turina’s Sinfonía sevillana, Op.23. Silva’s interpretation of the Brahms symphony was unique though ultimately convincing and his energy on the podium was terrific.

I recently returned from Panamá City where I was teaching and performing as part of the 4th annual Double Reed Festival of Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. This was my second time at the festival having participated in last year’s event. The festival is a true labor of love for the many people involved. It is a five day event that consists of master classes, reed making workshops, recitals and a gala concert at the end with bassoon and oboe soloists performing with the National Symphony of Panamá. This year’s teachers were oboists Alex Klein and Doris DeLoach, myself and repairman Jorge Valenzuela. Alex Klein has served as the festival’s main oboe teacher each of the four years of the festival and his unending energy is inspiring and infectious. It was wonderful to meet maestra DeLoach and get to work with her for the first time. Juan Castillo, the event’s founder again worked tirelessly to give the bassoon and oboe students of Latin American this incredible opportunity. Some photos here of this and last year’s festival.

Program of the gala concert:

• Devin Tiboche, oboe; Arturo Rey Sanchez, violin: Concerto for Oboe and Violin of J.S. Bach
• James Hansen: Concerto in a minor for Bassoon and Orchestra of A. Vivaldi
• Doris DeLoach: Concerto for Oboe and Strings of De Domenico Cimarosa
• Juan Castillo: Concerto for Oboe and Strings in d minor of J.S. Bach
• Saxton Rose: Ciranda para fagot y orquesta de cuerdas of H. Villa-Lobos
• Alex Klein: Concerto for Oboe and Strings in c minor of A. Vivaldi

The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert of the 2007-2008 season on September 8th with Guillermo Figueroa, director. The concert included Strauss’ Don Juan, Op. 20, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5, Op.67 and arias sung by soprano Hilda Ramos.