The Musical Society L’Artística Manisense (Manises, Valencia) became the overall winner of the last Saturday 48th International Band Competition Villa de marshmallow (CIMAltea) obtaining the highest score (287 points out of a maximum of 300) which earned him the Honorable Mention, the Societat Filharmònica Alteanense trophy and the Villa de Altea Prize of 6,000 euros sponsored by the Municipality. Furthermore, it received the “Corbatí d’Or” for having obtained the First Prize and the Honorable Mention in three editions (1996, 2005 and 2022), as required by the competition rules, and its director Bram Sniekers obtained the special mention by the jury as best director of the competition.
Besides the gang Manises, the bands Associação de Cultura e Recreio da Banda Marcial do Vale (Santa María da Feira, Porto, Portugal) and the Center Instructiu d’Art i Cultura Vall d’Uixó (Castellón) participated in the competition. The Portuguese band took the second prize receiving 225.50 points, and the group from Castellón took the first prize receiving 254 points. The flautist the soloist of this group, Sara Ureña Cabrera, received a special mention from the Jury formed by the director, and judge on seven occasions at the World Concert Band Olympiad in Kerkrade (Netherlands), Pierre Kuijpers (Netherlands), as president; and as vocals, Beatriz Fernández Aucejo from Valencia, assistant conductor of the Orchester National d’Ile-de-France, and Eva Irene Lopszyc from Argentina, composer and vice-president of the Argentine Women Composers Forum.
The 48th CIMAltea was dedicated to the European Year of Youth, thus uniting the impulse that the European Union seeks to promote Europeanism and the importance of the EU for all the peoples that compose it. For this the Societat Filharmònica Alteanense, organizer of the event since 1949, last year commissioned the composer Santiago Quinto Serna (Albatera, 1971) a work as part of this competition. Quito Serna created the symphony “Crecer (Grow), Symphonic Episodes of a Life” for the occasion, a composition that according to the author “shows the development and experiences of a child as he grows and matures. An attempt has also been made to recreate in this work my experiences and experiences as a father, how we see the growth of our children and also how we interpret and remember that period from adulthood”.
The Villa de Altea International Band Competition is considered the second most important in Spain after the International Band Competition of the City of Valencia. The Altea Palace hosted the event where about 500 musicians performed on stage if we count also those of the symphonic band of the Altean Philharmonic Society (SFA) which closed the event, in addition to the musicians of the competing groups. The presenter of the competition was the journalist of the regional television channel À Punt, Vanessa Gregori, while the journalist Àngela Tecles, university professor and director of the Enric Valor Chair of the University of AlicanteJoan Borja, hosted between four in the afternoon and eleven in the evening a special program broadcast live on Ràdio Altea and on the YouTube channel of the Municipality of Altea, interviewing the protagonists and representatives of the participating bands as well as the Sociedad Filarmónica Alteanense, as well as broadcast band performances.
The development of the competition
The 48 CIMAltea started at 4.30pm on Saturday and finished at 10.50pm. The band Association of Culture and Recreation of the Musical Band of the Valley (Santa María da Feira, Porto, Portugal) was the first to act. Under the direction of Bruno Azevedo, she performed “O xerife”, by Vítor Resende, as an introductory work; the obligatory work, “Crecer (Grow)”, by Santiago Quinto; and “Symphony number 4”, by David Maslanka, as a work of free choice.
He followed the Musical Society L’Artística Manisense with Bram Sniekers at the baton. As an introduction piece she performed “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral”, by Richard Wagner. She continued with compulsory labor. And it ended with “Concerto for wind orchestra”, by Ximo Tarín Micó.
The Vall d’Uixó Educational Center of Art and Culture therefore acted under the direction of Josep Domínguez Martín. He first interpreted “Art and Culture”, by Iván Romero Fuentes, as a presentation piece. Following the obligatory work by Quinto Serna. And ended with “Soul foul stones”, by José Suñer Oriola.
Out of competition, the symphonic band of Altean Philharmonic Society directed by Rafael M. Garrigós García while the jury deliberated. In his performance, the works “Valencia-París”, by R. Martínez Segura; “Fun (I Ragtime / III Mambo),” by Ira Hearshen; “Symphonic Dances (II Tango / III Hoedown)”, by Y. Fukuda; and “Jazz Suite No. 2 (III Dance I),” by Dimitri Shostakovich.
The results awarded by the Jury were announced immediately afterwards. The Domenech Ruiz, MEP presented the second prize to the Portuguese band, the provincial deputy Juan Bautista Roselló presented the first prize diploma to the Manises band and the provincial deputy Gerard Fullana presented the first prize to the Vall d’Uxó band. The president of the Federation of Musical Societies of the Valencian Community, Daniela González, instead presented the conductor of the Manises band with the diploma accrediting him as the best conductor of the 48 CIMAltea; the director of the Valencian Cultural Institute, Abel Guarinos, presented the prize of honor to flautist Sara Ureña as the best soloist of the event; the mayor of Altea, Jaume Llinares, presented the trophy of the Philharmonic Society of Altea and the Villa de Altea Prize to the president of Artística Manisense; and finally the Councilor for Culture, Aurora Serrat, handed it over to the president of the Manises gang Gold bow tie
As for the cash prizes, in addition to the 6,000 euros for the winning band, the other two participating bands received 3,000 euros each. Subsidized amounts from Town Hall of Altea.
Announcement of the 2023 edition
The competition ended with the announcement of the forty-ninth edition which will be held in a year and which will be dedicated to the centenary of the death of painter Gioacchino Sorolla. For the occasion, the obligatory work will be the symphony “Homage to Joaquín Sorolla”, by Bernardo Adam Ferrero, a composer who passed away on 12 October and to whom a small tribute was paid in his memory before the start of the competition (he he was president of the jury in the 1983, 1984 and 1997 editions, and author of the obligatory works of the 1989, 1991, 1997 and 2003 competitions). Likewise, a memento was also handed over to the band director “The Artistic” by BuñolHenrie Adams, who passed away on November 25, who also participated in the Altea competition, winning first prize with honorable mention in the years 2000, 2009 and 2018.
History of the contest
Since 1889, the Altean Philharmonic Society It was the main cultural entity of Altea. In the 1930s he maintained the only city library – with more than 2,000 volumes – and, from 1931 to 1936, he directed the monthly ALTEA. This cultural dynamism meant that the Altean Philharmonic Society convened and organized the I Altea Band Competition. Unfortunately, the economic difficulties of the time did not allow this initiative to continue. The second Band Competition was held in February 1973. From this date to today, with the patronage of the Municipality of Altea and other bodies and organizations, and with the organization of the Altean Philharmonic Society, there has been no interruption except in the years 1992 and 1995 in which no band entered the contest.
Until 1978 the Competition had a provincial character. From 1979 to 1989 the Competition was organized with a regional category. Starting in 1990, the Competition took on a national category. And in 1996, on the occasion of the 25th edition, the Altean Philharmonic Society has given new impetus to this event with an international appeal. Important prizes, juries of great musical qualification and a careful organization in which more than 50 people participate are the keys to making the Villa de Altea International Music Band Contest deserve year after year recognition and prestige at state and international level.
On the other, prestigious composers and conductors, such as J. Alfosea, Carlos Cosmén, José M. Cervera, Jesús Montalbán, Vicente Sempere, Gerardo Pérez Busquier, Julio Ribelles, José Ferriz, Eduardo Cifre, Vicente Perelló, Bernabé Sanchís, Moisés Davia, Salvador Chuliá, Francisco Signes, Luis Blanes, Jef Penders, Rafael Talens Pelló, Bernardo Adam Ferrero, Pablo Sánchez Torrella, Francisco Grau Vegara, Enrique García Asensio, Antón García Abril, Vicente Zarzo, José Vicente Egea, Johan de Meij, etc. ., were some of the personalities of the music world who judged the performances of the outstanding musical groups who competed with sportsmanship to deserve the highest recognition.
