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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) 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 Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,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 Dav ...

, 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 Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

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 Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

, 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'' " ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

), 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 The Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center (Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré in Spanish) is a multi-use performance centre located in the barrio of Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It features three main concert and theater halls for play ...

. In 2017, the orchestra was featured on " Yo Contra Ti" 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, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "Honorific ...

, recorded for a

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

campaign in partnership with foundations Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico and J. Walter Thompson. 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winner musician Ángel "Cucco" Peña served as

musical director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

. 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 Maximiano Valdés (born June 19, 1949) is a Chilean classical musician and orchestral conductor. He is the music director of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. Biography Valdés was born in Santiago, Chile in 1949. His parents were the composer ...

Accolades

;

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

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 Musical groups established in 1958 1958 establishments in Puerto Rico

History

Accolades

See also

References