Presentation
BilbaoSinfonietta:
Vanguard sounds
BilbaoSinfonietta is a versatile, flexible orchestra with a broad repertoire of classic-contemporary music in different contexts and with a clear objective: to reach the heart of modern culture through coherent, yet daring versions. The musical spectrum of BilbaoSinfonietta varies from symphonic and operatic works to an important multidisciplinary experimental line, incorporating synergies with theatre, dance and video creation. Since the orchestra was first created, Iker Sánchez Silva has been its Artistic and Musical Director, while directors such as Rainer Hersch, Carlos Noain, Oliver Díaz or Daniel Oren have also worked with the group.
During the orchestra’s six years of life, BilbaoSinfonietta has taken the stage on many occasions to perform a large number of scenic works. From productions at Teatro Arriaga such as Falla’s Love, the Magician (2019), The Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill (2021), to dramatic works such as The Soldier’s Tale by I. Stravinsky (Palacio Euskalduna and Castellon Congress Hall, 2018) or Pierrot Lunaire by A. Schönberg (Fundación BBVA, Bilbao 2019).
Last season, the orchestra had the opportunity to collaborate for the first time with ABAO at the GALA LÍRICA ABAO ON-STAGE performed at Auditorio Euskalduna along with a superb cast, and with Bilbao Choral Society at the closure of the Musika-Musica Festival, when they performed Mozart’s famous Requiem. They have also participated in dance projects with Lucía Lacarra and Matthew Golding (Teatro Arriaga, Bilbao, 2020), Metamorphosis Dance with Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich (Teatro Arriaga, Bilbao, 2021) and the Zaragoza-based company Circle of Trust (Palacio Euskalduna, Bilbao, 2018).
During its versatile career, BilbaoSinfonietta has been closely linked to the work of young composers and performed their works at different international festivals. The orchestra’s commitment to modern music has led them to create a small series of chamber operas (“pocket operas”), with two of them being performed in the Basque language for the first time this season: Arrosa Xuriaren Artean (Francisco Domínguez) and Bigarren Sexua (Asier López Iraola). The latter will be the orchestra’s second recording following the recent premiere of its first record for the IBS Classical label, Falla 1915 at Bilbao Philharmonic Society.
BilbaoSinfonietta has collaborated with an impressive list of opera singers, including Nicola Beller Carbone, Ángeles Blancas, Carmen Solís, Celso Albelo, Sergio Escobar, Juan Jesús Rodríguez, Simón Orfila, María Toledo, Ausrine Stundyte, Vanessa Goikoetxea, Jone Martínez, David Alegret, Maite Maruri, Chris Robertson and Naroa Intxausti and with stage directors such as Calixto Bieito, Mikel Gómez de Segura and Barbora Horakova.
The orchestra will shortly be participating in festivals such as the San Sebastián Quincena Musical event, when they will again perform Pierrot Lunaire by Schönberg together with the music of Gabriel Erkoreka, and a new work from the recent National Music Award. They will also be performing at the Festival Bernaola in Vitoria-Gasteiz with the pocket opera Arrosa Xuriaren Artean by Francisco Domínguez, along with the soprano Jone Martinez and as the instrumental group that performs the work of the finalists of the “Young National Composers Competition” at Auditorio Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. At the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 they will embark on the long-awaited Händel’s Messiah Tour, along with a fantastic cast led by Carlos Mena and Jone Martinez.
Artistic Director
Iker Sánchez Silva
The Artistic Director of BilbaoSinfonietta and Musical Director of Opus Lírica has directed prestigious orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Catalonia, Bilbao, Euskadi, Princedom of Asturias, Tenerife, Porto, Bayonne-Côte Basque, City of Pamplona, Montenegro, Concentus Alius Berlin, Oviedo Philharmonic Orchestra or the Orchestra of the Humboldt University in Berlin.
He studied as an instrumentalist in San Sebastián, Bordeaux and Munich, combining his direction studies with the masterclasses of Peter Eötvos, Szolt Nagy, Jesús López Cobos and Arturo Tamayo with his work as an assistant alongside great orchestra conductors like Raymond Leppard, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Juanjo Mena, Vasily Petrenko, Pablo González and Michael Jurowsky in orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the scenic music field, he has directed works that include Mozart’s Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, The Elixir of Love by Donizetti, The Homestead by Guridi, Love, the Magician by Falla, The Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill, The Clever Squirrel by N. Rota and the recent premiere of two operas in the Basque language, Bigarren sexua by Asier López Iraola and Arrosa Xuriaren Artean by Fran Domínguez.
Forthcoming projects include recording sessions with Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Sinkro Ensemble or BilbaoSinfonietta, as well as the musical direction of productions such as Pagliacci by Leoncavallo, Dido and Aeneas by Purcell, Pierrot Lunaire by Schönberg or the premiere of the new opera by José María Sanchez Verdú.
More info ikersanchez.com
Resident composer
Francisco Domínguez
Francisco Domínguez was born in Alcolea de Calatrava in 1993. He studied composition with Gabriel Erkoreka at Musikene, Spain, and completed his studies with an honorable mention. He also studied a Master’s Degree in that field at Kunst Universität Graz, Austria, with Beat Furrer and Klaus Lang, completing his studies with an honorable mention. He also received classes and masterclasses from Helmut Lachenmann, Ramon Lazkano, Hector Parra, Alberto Posadas and Rebecca Saunders, among others.
He has received many prestigious International awards, including First Prize in the “Pablo Sorozabal” (15thedition) and “Francisco Escudero” (7th and 9th editions) competitions, Third Prize in the “Toru Takemitsu Composition Awards” (2020) and honorable mentions in the “Franz Schubert” (10th edition) competition and the “SGAE Foundation Young Composers Competition” (26th edition).
In 2016 he participated in the Peter Eötvös Foundation Academy, imparting classes there, and with Toshio Hosokawa. That same year he was selected by Peter Eötvös to take part in the Gargonza Arts Residency (Germany-Italy), in 2018. He was recently selected to take part in the Peter Eötvös Foundation Mentoring Programme in 2021.
His music has been performed at reputed festivals such as Fundación BBVA, IMPULS or Fundación Juan March. He has also worked with well-known artists including Iñaki Alberdi, Michael Faust, Henri Bok, L’Instant Donné, THReNSeMBLe, Schallfeld Ensemble, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra or Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, among others. In addition, he studied on the Viola Master’s Degree programme at Musikene with David Quiggle and Natasha Twitch.
More info franciscodominguez.info