Importance of Choral Singing in Matanzas Highlighted

The importance of the continuation of choral singing in Matanzas is demonstrated in its full aesthetic and spiritual dimension through the sixteenth edition of the Spring Choral Concerts, which take place over three days at the José White Hall as the main venue.

The Athens of Cuba was for many years an emporium of the choral movement in Cuba, as stated in an interview with Radio 26 by professor Rosaida Pita, head of the choral department for several decades at the Alfonso Pérez Isaac Vocational Art School, who noted that the province stood out in the country to the point of hosting an International Choir Meeting and for decades maintained choral education from an early age.

She considered it highly important to maintain these spring concerts, now that greater organizational dynamism is being observed from childhood and among students of art schools.

The pedagogue highlighted the prestige of the Matanzas Chamber Choir, classified as one of the most outstanding in the country, which gives singular distinction to this event.

The inaugural concert featured performances by more than 30 young singers, none older than seven years, directed by professors Meylin Villalonga, Mildred Lorenzo, and Lía Ramos.

Likewise, the performance of the Cantus Lucis choir, composed of students from the Professional Art School, under the baton of maestro Reynaldo Montalvo Carreras, with a selection of Cuban and Latin American melodies, drew a standing ovation from the audience.

The 16th Edition of the Spring Choral Concerts is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Professional Choir of Matanzas (now the Chamber Choir) and to the 40 years at the helm of that work by its principal conductor, Doctor José Antonio Méndez Valencia.

Tribute is also paid to its first conductor, Octavio Marín, along with choral subdirectors Félix Rodríguez and Hilda Elvira Santiago, during the 1960s and 1970s.