Violinist, chamber musician, and orchestra conductor, José Manuel Gil de Gálvez, has performed a symphonic concert at the Auditorio de la Plaza de la Autonomía (Auditorium of the Plaza de la Autonomía) of the Universidad de Costa Rica (University of Costa Rica, UCR) in San José, accompanied by pianist Calio Alonso.
The event has been carried out with the support of the Obra Cultural (Cultural Work) of FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO, the Universidad de Costa Rica (University of Costa Rica, UCR), the Embassy of Spain in Costa Rica, the Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales y Cooperación Externa (Office of International Affairs and External Cooperation, OAICE), and the Escuela de Artes Musicales (School of Musical Arts, EAM).
Present at the event were Eva Martínez Sánchez, Spanish Ambassador to Costa Rica; Gustavo Gutiérrez Espeleta, Rector of the UCR; Diana Senior Angulo, Director of the Office of International Affairs and External Cooperation; and Claribet Morera Brenes, Director of FUNIBER in Costa Rica.
This is the second tour that this musician has made through Central America under the sponsorship of the Obra Cultural de FUNIBER y UNEATLANTICO. Earlier this year, he gave several concerts in Guatemala and El Salvador.
Gil de Gálvez is a multifaceted artist who approaches music from different perspectives: performance, pedagogy, dissemination, management, and research, with the violin, his instrument, and orchestral conducting as the common thread. Since 1996, he has been First Violin and leader of the prestigious Spanish string orchestra Concerto Málaga.
As a conductor, he debuted at the Teatro Nacional de El Salvador (National Theater of El Salvador) and obtained great success conducting the Orquesta Filarmónica Nacional de Venezuela (National Philharmonic Orchestra of Venezuela) at the Teatro Teresa Carreño (Teresa Carreño Theater) in Caracas.
Among his academic merits, he holds an International Doctorate “cum laude by unanimous decision” in music and education from the University of Málaga. He obtained the official postgraduate degree of Master of Arts in Classical String Performance in violin and chamber music with the highest qualification (First Class with Honors) awarded by the University of Limerick (Ireland).
The culmination of this successful Central American tour has had several highlights in four countries in the region, including the closing ceremony in Costa Rica.
El Salvador
The start of this second tour of Central America kicked off in El Salvador. In this country, Gil de Gálvez gave a lecture for music students days before offering his first concert of the tour in the Salvadoran capital. In this first concert, Instructor Gil de Gálvez has counted with the special participation of Michelle Tejada, an outstanding Salvadoran mezzo-soprano and the first to win the U.S. coastal singing competition.
During his stay, the musician also paid a visit to the Sistema de Coros y Orquestas Infantiles y Juveniles de El Salvador (Children and Youth Choirs and Orchestras System of El Salvador), offering a unique opportunity to the participants of this program.
Honduras
During his visit to the city of Tegucigalpa, Gil de Gálvez offered several cultural activities as part of his tour in collaboration with the Obra Cultural of FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO and the Secretaría de Cultura, Arte y Patrimonio de los Pueblos de Honduras (Secretariat of Culture, Art and Heritage of the Peoples of Honduras, SECAPPH). Among the activities, the artist gave a talk on “The importance of music as a fundamental pillar of human development: Violin didactics at early ages,” as well as a violin practice workshop for students of the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (National Conservatory of Music) and the Escuela Nacional de Música (National School of Music). His visit to the country culminated with a concert at the Auditorium of the Escuela Nacional de Música.
Nicaragua
The passage of the chamber musician and orchestra conductor through Nicaragua, thanks to the Obra Cultural of FUNIBER and UNEATLANTICO, has resulted in a majestic concert where pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Granados, among other artists, have been performed. This symphonic concert was held at the Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío (Rubén Darío National Theater) in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
