Sinfónica de Minería ready to open Bravo! Vail’s 37th season
The Opening Night of Bravo! Vail Music Festival’s 37th season is almost here. The six-week festival runs from June 20 to Aug. 1 and presents four internationally acclaimed resident orchestras with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic returning. New this year, Bravo! Vail welcomes its first Latin-American guest orchestra, Mexico’s acclaimed Sinfónica de Minería with artistic director Carlos Miguel Prieto for three nights of music this Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Before we get to Beethoven’s “Eroica,” on Thursday night at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, let’s get to know Prieto a little more. This may be the first time Sinfónica de Minería has been to Vail but that’s not the case for Prieto. He’s an avid skier as well as a conductor.
“My two passions are skiing and conducting. Vail has been an essential part of the first. Can you imagine how exciting it is to make it now part of the second? I cannot wait!” Prieto said.
Prieto won’t be schussing down the slopes this time of year, but he’s excited to play this venue.
“This is my first time at Bravo! Vail, but I have skied at Vail and Beaver Creek all my life and am passionate about the area,” Prieto said. “I am lucky enough to perform all over, including Carnegie Hall, London Proms and most great theaters in the world. But the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is my dream venue.”
Prieto has spent 25 years as a conductor and has been with Sinfónica de Minería since 2006.
“I have been the music director of Sinfónica de Minería and also North Carolina Symphony and Orchestra of the Americas. I also play the violin and have played all my life,” Prieto said. He has been nominated for five Grammy awards and won a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Composition for the recording of Paquito D’Rivera’s “Concierto Venezolano.”
The three-day residency with Sinfónica de Minería showcases world-renowned artists, including trumpet player Pacho Flores, guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, cantaora Esperanza Fernández, flamenco dancer Isaac Tovar and cuatro player Héctor Molina.
In the past, Prieto has also collaborated with Bravo! Vail’s artistic director Anne-Marie McDermott and is excited to share the stage with her again on Thursday for a night of Beethoven. Although Prieto says he doesn’t have a favorite composer, if I had to choose one it would be Beethoven, but he listens to a variety of tunes.
“I listen to jazz. I was music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic in New Orleans for 17 years. I like all kinds of chamber music, piano music and opera,” Prieto said.
Learn more about Prieto and Sinfónica de Minería with a Q-and-A session with McDermott immediately following the performance on Sunday. For more information on tickets and other events, visit BravoVail.org.
“I am very, very excited about Sinfónica de Minería being in Vail,” Prieto said. “This is a wonderful orchestra that plays like no other, with an enthusiasm that will surprise everyone.”
Read the full article at VailDaily.com