The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) (''Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) a musical ensemble sponsored by the Government of Puerto Rico. It has 80 regular musicians from around the world performing a 52-week season which includes symphonic concerts, operas, ballets, pops, and other activities.

History

The history of the PRSO dates back to 1958 when famed cellist Don Pablo Casals visited the island to see his family and to discover the land where his mother was born. Soon after, he would dedicate most of his work to foster classical music in Puerto Rico. In 1957, he organized the first annual

Casals Festival The Casals Festival is a classical music event celebrated every year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in honor of classical musician Pablo Casals. Background The festival was founded in 1956 by Pablo Casals. It was promoted by Teodoro Moscoso and Davi ...

, where he invited classical musicians to perform several concerts to Puerto Ricans and tourists alike. It was during this multi-week festival that state legislator Ernesto Ramos Antonini presented a bill which would create the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, receiving much praise and support from both the public and other state legislators. After the law was signed by then Governor of Puerto Rico

Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...

, the task of organizing the orchestra was given to the same group which organized the Casals Festival. The first live concert was performed on November 6, 1958 in Mayagüez, hometown of Don Pablo Casals’s mother. The PRSO has hosted various artists, including

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, Luciano Pavarotti,

Justino Díaz Justino Díaz (born January 29, 1940) is a Puerto Rican operatic bass-baritone. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the first Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made ...

, Kiri Te Kanawa, and

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' "o ...

, among others, and has performed in various Central and South American countries as well as in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In addition to its 48-week regular season, the PRSO also organizes several concerts and activities for the purpose of fulfilling Don Casals’s dream of fostering classical music in Puerto Rico. These activities include: ''Conoce tu Orquesta'' (“Know Your Orchestra”), ''La Sinfónica en tu Pueblo'' (“The Orchestra In Your Town”), ''La Sinfónica en las Universidades'' (“The Orchestra in Universities”), and ''La Sinfónica en los Residenciales'' (“The Orchestra In The Projects”; i.e.

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

), as well as performing in the annual Casals Festival. The PRSO is currently managed by the Musical Arts Corporation of the government of Puerto Rico, who also organizes the annual Casals Festival. The PRSO regularly performs at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center. In 2017, the orchestra was featured on "

Yo Contra Ti "Yo Contra Ti" (; English: "Me Against You") is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee featuring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. It was composed for a breast cancer campaign in partnership with foundations Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico and ...

" by Puerto Rican rapper

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

, recorded for a

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

campaign in partnership with foundations Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico and

J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...

. Puerto Rican producer

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

produced, mixed and recorded the song, while Puerto Rican

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winner musician Ángel "Cucco" Peña served as musical director. The song garnered the PRSO a nomination for a

Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance The Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban/Fusion Performance is an honor presented annually by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and promotes a wider awareness of cultural ...

at the 19th Latin Grammy Awards. From August through May, the orchestra has weekly concerts at the Pablo Casals Symphony Hall. Current music director is Maximiano Valdés.

Accolades

;

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

References

{{authority control American orchestras Puerto Rican musical groups Government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras Performing arts in Puerto Rico

History

Accolades

See also

References