This week was held another event of the Orchestra Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Asunción – the Asunción Symphony Orchestra (OSCA). Guarania Sinfónica — Flores Original was presented by José Antonio Galeano and conducted by Maestro Luis Szarán. This time, it was held in the Seminario Metropolitano on Avenida Kubitscheck as part of the series of concerts outside the theatre, which is located downtown. This concert, with the collaboration of the Coro Purahei Pyahu, was to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Radio Caritas Universidad Catolica and make Paraguayan music accessible by playing the contents of José Asunción Flores. The church was packed for the event, and extra chairs were added on both sides of the alleys to seat everyone.
The first musical performance of the Asunción Symphony Orchestra was Ka’aty, performed by Tenor Iván Berdejo. The second was Gallito cantor Kyre’y. The third one was Ne rendape aju, the fourth one Musiqueada che amape, the fifth one Ñemity, and the sixth one Cholí. The last was a symphonic poem, María de la Paza, Poema por la Paz y la Amistad. Some music had singing parts, with texts from Rigoberto Fontao Meza, Manuel Ortiz Guerrero, Carlos Federico Abente, and Elvio Romero. Transcription was made by Oscar Aguilar Mas, Miguel A. Echevarría, and Wilfrido “Chocho” Alvarenga. In total, it lasted around 75 minutes. It was not too long or too short; it was the perfect duration. I was not able to connect to the music as much as the other people in the church, who were all Paraguayans, but I did enjoy the symphony and the rhythm of these local melodies.
What makes these concerts great? They are almost always free! They are very accessible, as they want to make this kind of music better known by the younger generation. The first concert of the Asunción Symphony Orchestra I attended with friends here was “Una Noche en París.” It was held in early August in Teatro Municipal and was again free! Musical performance again by Maestro Szarán with the collaboration of Aguilar Mas as a soloist with his violin. They were playing content from Ravel and Offenbach, to name a few. I really liked it as it is a type of symphony I can rely a little bit more to.
The Asunción Symphony Orchestra offers multiple concerts for free during the year, some at the Municipal Theatre and others in various areas of the city as part of a series of shows outside. If you want to know more about the OSCA and look for the next concerts, you can follow the OSCA on Instagram. They are very active on the platform. If you have questions or comments for them, you can also send them a message in private.
