The extraordinary concert takes place this Sunday, 7th, at the Plaza del Cristo under the direction of Víctor Pablo Pérez
The festivities for the Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna will feature one of their key events this Sunday, 7th September, with a concert by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra at 20:30 in the Plaza del Cristo. This free event has become a mass attraction, celebrating over twenty editions. This year, the orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Víctor Pablo Pérez, with a programme appealing to all audiences that highlights the iconic soundtracks of Western films.
The concert was presented on Thursday at a press conference at the Town Hall of La Laguna by the Councillor for Fiestas, Dailos González; the Councillor for Culture, Museums, and Sports of the Tenerife Cabildo, José Carlos Acha; and the Honorary Conductor of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Víctor Pablo Pérez.
Dailos González expressed his gratitude for “the commitment of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra to La Laguna, which is reaffirmed year after year.” He noted that the orchestra “is a vital part of the Cristo festivities” and that their performance is “highly anticipated, surpassing expectations each year,” reminding the audience that it is “one of the great orchestral ensembles in our country. We must appreciate that, alongside its national prominence, it remains the orchestra of the people, linked to such a popular programme as that of the Cristo.”
Tenerife’s Councillor for Culture and Museums, José Carlos Acha, highlighted that “this concert marks the opening of the new cultural season with a free proposal designed for all audiences, reinforcing the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra’s commitment to its public dimension and its role as a cultural engine for the island.”
The performance, a co-production of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, and the Town Hall of La Laguna, is designed as a scenic and audiovisual experience that captures the spirit of epic adventure. With a script by Jordi Cos, it will feature narration by actor Luis Posada, projections of cinematic images, lighting design, and the participation of prominent soloists such as soprano Andrea Martí, baritone Toni Marsol, and harmonica player Sergi Raya.
The Cabildo’s orchestra will also be joined by the Coral Reyes Bartlet, conducted by José Híjar Polo, in a collaboration that enhances and showcases choral activity on the island. “Having the Coral Reyes Bartlet on stage is a way to strengthen ties between the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and the island’s musical groups. This partnership demonstrates how a public institution can act as a catalyst to nourish the local cultural ecosystem, creating synergies that enrich the musical fabric and generate shared experiences of high artistic and social value,” added the President of the Insular Music Board.
The programme features iconic scores from the genre, including ‘Silverado’ (Bruce Broughton), ‘The Great Train Robbery’ (Jerry Goldsmith), ‘How the West Was Won’ (Alfred Newman), ‘High Noon’, ‘The Alamo’ and ‘Rawhide’ (Dmitri Tiomkin), ‘Legends of the Fall’ (James Horner), ‘Irish Rhapsody’ (Victor Herbert), ‘Dances with Wolves’ (John Barry), ‘The Legend of the City Without Name’ (Frederick Loewe), ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (Elmer Bernstein), and ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (Ennio Morricone), all arranged to amplify the emotion, nostalgia, and collective imagery of cinematic Westerns.
Víctor Pablo Pérez, the Honorary Conductor of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, who will lead the orchestra for this special occasion, stated, “It is a pleasure to return to this traditional concert and a privilege to share such an exciting programme with the audience, in such a significant setting as the Plaza del Cristo, and with an orchestra that is part of the cultural soul of this island.”
“Possibly in my entire life, I haven’t conducted a more popular concert than this. The repertoire of soundtracks always evokes a special enthusiasm in both the orchestra and the audience, and to hear it live, with all the orchestral colour, is a vibrant experience that connects generations,” Pérez added.
