WMC KERKRADE 2026
There is no doubt that concert bands are an essential pillar of Spain’s musical and cultural heritage. The Valencian Community and Galicia are the regions with the greatest number of popular concert bands; ensembles that not only fill social events with music, but are, in many cases, the most important cultural driving force in their municipality. Agrupación Musical de O Rosal is one of the finest and largest concert bands in Galicia, and on August 1, they decided to prove that they are also one of the best concert bands in the world. We were fortunate enough to take part in their great achievement, and in this article we will share all the details of this experience with you.
Agrupación Musical de O Rosal is the band where Hugo grew up and learned music. Jaime also joined a few years ago, inspired by the band’s high level and by the leadership of one of his first music teachers, Javier Alonso (Chao). Lítore Quartet’s annual summer tours of Galicia brought us closer and closer to O Rosal, where we first performed in 2021. The idea of collaborating with Agrupación Musical de O Rosal gradually took shape, until they decided to enter the world championships for concert bands: the World Music Competition in Kerkrade. The competition repertoire called for a work for concert band and soloist, and we ended up being that soloist, performing the third movement of David Maslanka’s Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble.
Although AMDoR had been preparing the repertoire for many months, we joined the rehearsals on July 22, following our intense Selkie tour. Before taking part in the competition, we were scheduled to give a preparatory concert on July 26 in O Rosal. In addition to the piece in which we performed as soloists, the repertoire included Wine-Dark Sea by John Mackey and El Jardín de Hera by José Suñer Oriola. During these pieces, we joined the band as members of the ensemble.
Thanks to an immense effort by the entire ensemble and the people of O Rosal to raise the necessary funding, we flew to Cologne, Germany, on July 29. The whole group rehearsed and spent time together there until the day of the competition. The days were filled with excitement, not only in Cologne and Kerkrade, but also in O Rosal. There, the Concello de O Rosal set up a giant screen in Praza do Calvario so that everyone could watch the band live on competition day. Thank you for your support, O Rosal!
The third movement of David Maslanka’s concerto is virtuosic and fast-paced. The band did a fantastic job, and it was very easy for us to play with them and deal with the small discrepancies that occurred during the first rehearsals. Performing the entire concerto, with all three movements, is still on our to-do list—something we hope to be able to do very soon.
The experience was positive not only musically, where we reached a very high level, but also personally. The excitement and enthusiasm that could be felt from one rehearsal to the next made it truly unique. The result reflected all the work that had gone into it: a score of 95 out of 100 points and a more than well-deserved fourth place in the Concert Division, the competition’s highest category.
And of course, we didn’t escape the traveling—or the buses. But it’s all a matter of having good company!
Without a doubt, this experience will stand out in the history of both Lítore Quartet and Agrupación Musical de O Rosal. For us, it was the first time performing as soloists with a symphonic band, and for AMDoR, it was their first time participating in the World Music Competition. Thank you, and congratulations, Agrupación Musical de O Rosal. As you always say: O tempo pasa, pero a música queda no pobo (“Time passes, but music remains in the community”).
