Pro Musica Youth Orchestra Concert [] Instituto Allende

I am delighted to tell you that the Pro Musica Youth Orchestra resumed rehearsals last month after an interregnum of 20 months. The orchestra has a new Music Director/Principal Conductor, Canadian Robert Mari, an experienced professional musician with a PhD in conducting from the Peabody School of Music at John Hopkins. Robert is charismatic, inclusive and inspires our young musicians. To celebrate the return of the orchestra we have scheduled their first concert on Sunday 12 December 2021 at 3 pm. This will take place outdoors with socially distanced seating in the delightful gardens of the Arts School of the Instituto Allende on Ancha de San Antonio.

The program will include works by Mozart and Haydn. The centerpiece of the concert will be Mozart’s wonderful Symphony No. 35 in D major, the “Haffner”, written in 1782, one of the master’s most beloved works. We will also hear his work K.552, known as “A Musical Joke”. This is a not-altogether accurate translation from the German, and a more appropriate description might be “Some Musical Fun”. The essence of the work is that it is a satirical parody of other composers’ styles and a masterclass in using wrong notes and compositorial comedic devices. It is a lot of fun for both audience and players alike, and an ideal piece for a youth orchestra.

Haydn will be represented by his Symphony 99 in E-flat major, written in 1793 in Vienna for performance during his second visit to England the following year. It is the seventh of the ultimately twelve “London” symphonies, the last of which, No. 104, was the last symphony he ever wrote. These works were received in London with much acclaim and have been hugely popular ever since.

This will be followed by the “Toy” symphony. The provenance of this 18th century work is still the subject of debate, and it is variously attributed to either Joseph Haydn, Leopold Mozart, Michael Haydn, or Edmund Angerer! The title comes from the inclusion in the orchestra of various “toy” instruments, such as toy trumpet, ratchet, and bird calls.  The instruments used by each orchestra are a flexible feast and we will wait to see what Maestro Mari comes up with – whatever it is, you will enjoy this fun work!

All tickets for the concert are $300 pesos donation each and the whole of the proceeds of ticket sales will go to the orchestra members. This will be a wonderful opportunity for you to show your support for the orchestra under its new conductor and to see how the young musicians are performing. I have attended rehearsals of the orchestra and they are sounding excellent.This will be the only symphony concert in San Miguel this year so don’t miss the opportunity to hear much loved works in a delightful setting at a bargain price! To purchase tickets for this concert, please visit our website: www.promusicasma.org .