The evening of Friday, February 5th, was one filled with beautiful melody at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM). The doors of the Mangual Coliseum were open to everyone who wanted to witness an outstanding classical concert performed by the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico (ICOPR) as part of this semester’s Presencias program. ICOPR is the first chamber orchestra from our island and it was founded by musician Emilio Colón, who is also the artistic director.
At 8 pm, the orchestra, which counts with 34 members, began the concert that delighted those musical enthusiasts who said present at the event. The orchestra started its performance with Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, a musical masterpiece composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in the year 1807, inspired by Heinrich von Collin’s tragic play Coriolan. After this piece, the orchestra played Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165 alongside Puerto Rican opera singer, Yalí-Marie Williams, soprano who sang stunningly and even did an encore.
Yalí-Marie Williams, soprano
When asked about the concert, Carlos Santaella, English major from UPRM expressed, “the concert was marvelous, they played beautifully, and, of course, the lady singing was just stunning.” Santaella admitted attending the concert mainly for his Choir class, but enjoyed the performance a lot; “all in all, I was absolutely blown away by their talent and I loved it!”
The concert also counted with spectators from different areas of Puerto Rico and students from other universities. Sonyanne Aponte, Biology sophomore from University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, came to witness the concert because of a friend’s invitation. “I loved it; it made me want to attend another orchestra concert,” she expressed.
The International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico (ICOPR)
After a 15 minute intermission, the orchestra performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, also known as the “Italian.” This piece is played in four movements, Allegro Vivace (A major), Andante con moto (D minor), Con moto moderato (A major), and a Presto Finale. Everyone applauded greatly as the musicians all took a bow after such an exquisite classical concert. The International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico delivered a performance that proved the truthfulness of their motto “Passion – Precision – Purity.” It was truly a spectacular way for Presencias to kick off this semester’s cultural events in anticipation of the University’s Art Museum (MuSA) grand opening this Thursday, February 11 at 6 pm.