The Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa is a Mexican

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

located in the city of

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...

, the capital of the state of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. It was founded in 1929, and is considered the oldest symphony orchestra in Mexico.

History

The orchestra was established by

Adalberto Tejeda Olivares Sixto Adalberto Tejeda Olivares (28 March 1883 – 8 September 1960) was a Mexican politician, who served two terms (1920–1924 and 1928–1932) as Governor of Veracruz. He was born in Chicontepec de Tejeda, Veracruz. During the Mexican Revoluti ...

, a patron of the arts, in his second term as Governor of the state of Veracruz. Members were recruited from the state band, and the orchestra's first performance was on 21 August 1929 in the "Teatro Lerdo" in Xalapa city. In its first performance the orchestra comprised 19 string players, 16 woodwind players, 3 drummers, and a piano player, under the direction of

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

Juan Lomán y Bueno. In 1975, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa Symphony became part of

Universidad Veracruzana Universidad Veracruzana (Spanish for ''University of Veracruz'') is a public autonomous university located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Established in 1944, the university is one of the most important in the southeast region of México. It ...

. Since 1929, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa plays with prestigious conductors and soloists like

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose t ...

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

Julián Carrillo Julián Carrillo Trujillo (January 28, 1875 – September 9, 1965) was a Mexican composer,Camp, Roderic Ai (1995). "Carrillo (Flores), Nabor" on ''Mexican Political Biographies, 1935–1993: Third Edition'', p. 121. . conductor, violi ...

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Yoel Levi Yoel Levi (Hebrew: יואל לוי) (born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor. Early life Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. ...

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Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

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, Horacio Gutiérrez,

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Polish ...

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and educatio ...

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Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

Vladimir Spivakov Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov (Russian: Влади́мир Теодо́рович Спивако́в; born 12 September 1944) is a Soviet and Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Spiva ...

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, Jeffery Meyer and others. Nationally, the OSX has hosted important events in the artistic life of Mexico, among them the Festival and International Cello Competition Pablo Casals ( 1959 ), which the legendary

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

, along with

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

Zara Nelsova Zara Nelsova (December 23, 1918October 10, 2002) was a prominent cellist. Biography Nelsova was born as Sara Katznelson in Winnipeg, Canada, to parents of Jewish-Russian descent. Nelsova first performed at the age of five in Winnipeg. She eventu ...

and

, among others. The orchestra represented Mexico in the Europalia Festival (1993) and has done some international tours in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and Guatemala, being recognized as the " best ambassador of music and Mexican creation ." On August 25, 2013, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa performed the first concert in its new concert hall at the Centro Cultural Tlaqná, with 1,285 seats. Tlaqná has other two minor concert halls, with 350 and 200 seats.

Conductors

* Juan Lomán y Bueno was the first conductor of the orchestra * José Ives Limantour (1944–1952) * Luis Ximénez Caballero (1952–1962) * Francisco Savín (1963–1967) * José Ives Limantour (1967–1969) * Fernando Avila Navarro (1969–1975) *

Luis Herrera de la Fuente Luis Herrera de la Fuente (April 25, 1916 – December 5, 2014) was a Mexican conductor, pianist, violinist, composer and writer of the 20th century. De la Fuente gained many recognitions and awards in Mexico and worldwide. He conducted the Orqu ...

(1975–1984) * Francisco Savín (1984–1986) *

Enrique Diemecke Enrique Arturo Diemecke (born July 9, 1952) is a Mexican conductor, violinist and composer. He is currently the Artistic General Director of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and music director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic and the Flint Symp ...

(1986–1987) * José Guadalupe Flore (1987–1990) * Francisco Savín (1990–2001) :es:Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa *

Carlos Miguel Prieto Carlos Miguel Prieto (born 14 November 1965) is a Mexican conductor. He is music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria, of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, and The Orch ...

(2002–2008) * Fernando Lozano Rodríguez (2008–2012) * Lanfranco Marcelletti (2012-2020) * Martin Lebel (since 2020)

References

External links

Xalapa Symphony Orchestra Official Site

Orquesta Sinfónica De Xalapa, 82 Años De Historia
from th
official Veracruz state tourism agency
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1929 Symphony orchestras Veracruz Mexican orchestras 1929 establishments in Mexico