After four months, the lítores were finally able to meet again. This second meeting of the season concentrated all our energies on the preparation of the concert on Monday 13th March at the Botín Centre in Santander. The opportunity to play in this incredible hall overlooking the bay of the Cantabrian capital arose from the award we won at the last edition of the Arnuero International Chamber Music Competition. At the same time, we took advantage of the days of intense rehearsals in Palma to attend the closing gala and presentation of the Art Jove 2022 awards, held on Saturday 11th March.
On Thursday 9th March we were all in Mallorca, ready to dedicate 24 hours a day to the quartet. We had to face a varied repertoire ranging from the harmonies of Eugène Bozza to the minimalism of Marc Mellits, the gallop and bagpipes of William Albright and our favourite train journey, set to music by Robin Hoffmann. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to support contemporary compositional music either, so we decided to take the works of Aaron Siebert and Eduardo Soutullo with us on a trip to Santander. We had no time to waste: the hours of rehearsal went by with a lot of work and concentration, combined with the particular Lítore humour, which undoubtedly makes the rehearsals much more entertaining.
Although we spent most of the hours preparing for our date in Santander, we also had time to celebrate Sira's birthday, who spent her birthday with the saxophone in her hands; and also Hugo's, who had blown out his candles just under a month ago. It wasn't all about work!
On Saturday 11th March we had a dress rehearsal at the Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears, our rehearsal centre, which was attended by some students of the saxophone classroom of the centre. In the afternoon we went to our appointment at the Teatre Municipal Mar i Terra in Palma to collect our First Prize in the category of chamber ensembles of the Concurs per a joves intèrprets Art Jove 2022. At the same time, we also participated in the cultural activities of the event performing the works Andante et Scherzo by Eugène Bozza and Black by Marc Mellits. Congratulations to all our award-winning colleagues!
At 7:00 a.m. our flight left for Bilbao. After a good early start and the usual packing of our baritone and tenor saxophones with cling film, we arrived in the Biscayan capital ready to catch the first bus to take us to our final destination: Santander. After enjoying the fantastic Cantabrian gastronomy, we spent the first hours of Sunday afternoon getting to know the auditorium of the Botín Centre and enjoying its incredible views. After the acoustic test and a short rehearsal, we met up with our parents, who once again wanted to join us on this adventure. Without a doubt, they are our number 1 fans, and their support is essential for us. You are the best!
It was our parents who noticed that our saxophones appeared on the big screen outside the Botín Centre announcing our concert. Just incredible!
Monday morning was a new experience for us. At 10 a.m. we started the day with an activity for primary school children at the Botín Centre, moderated by the composer Esteban Sanz. The little ones from Santander were able to see us in action playing short excerpts from our programme, which generated curious comments about our saxophones. A wonderful experience, no doubt. However, we are still wondering: is it clear to them that a soprano saxophone is NOT a clarinet?
At 18:30 we were at the Botín Centre looking forward to the concert at 20:00. The hall was full and, despite the tiredness of the previous days, we enjoyed a fantastic moment surrounded by a smiling audience, curiously younger than usual. It was a pleasure to receive the applause of the music lovers of Santander in an iconic place like the Botín Centre. We would like to thank the Botín Foundation for their welcome and attention. Among the audience we also met other familiar faces, those of Antonio Margallo and Marco, organisers of the Arnuero International Chamber Music Competition. We would like to thank them again for their attention during the competition and their intense love for culture. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for coming to see us, it was a joy to meet you again.
With another early start and a few hugs in Barajas, each of us took a different flight to return to our place of studies. It has been another fantastic Lítore experience, in which we have grown, learned and laughed together. See you soon and stay tuned!
