The Symphonic Band and Chorus of the Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico (Banda Sinfónica y Coro de la Secretaría de Marina Armada) is an ensemble of 120 musicians and singers whose members are professional musicians in the Mexican Navy. The band was founded by in 1941 and the chorus in 1993, to play music appropriate to the military mostly in Mexican venues but the ensemble has also played in various countries in North America and Europe. It gained international recognition in the late 1960s and early 1970s and participates in events for military bands.[1]
History
The symphonic band was established in 1941, by Contralmirante SMN Estanislao García Espinosa.[2][3] Its purpose has been to perform music appropriate to the military.[4] The chorus section was founded later in 1993 by Captain César Amora Aguilar.[2][5] Today the orchestra and chorus consist of 120 members which generally perform together but the fifty member chorus has performed on its own as well.[5][6][7] All members are professionally trained musicians who are members of the Mexican Navy who have attended schools such as Escuela Nacional de Música of UNAM, the Escuela Superior de Música and the Conservatorio Nacional de Música.[2] The director and conductor of the orchestra is Narciso Bautista Gonzalez and the choral director is Ricardo Cordova Delgado.[2][5] It has had guest conductors such as Julián Carrillo, Carl Alwin, Enrique Diemecke and Fernando Lozano. Noted soloists who have performed with it include pianist Edison Quintana, singer Carlo Morelli, trompetist Juan Manuel Arpero and marimba player Zeferino Nandayapa.[2] The chorus has voices baritone, tenor, soprano, mezzo-soprano and bass voices,[4] with noted singers being soprano Corbeta Sonia Jiménez Galván, bass Ricardo Galindo Gomez, tenor Joel Isaac Pererz Navarro and mezzo-soprano Cecilia del Carmen Gonzalez del Cano.[8]
The ensemble gives between thirty and thirty five performances for about 80,000 people each year.[4][5] It has mostly performed in all of the states of the Mexican Republic but it has also appeared in countries such as the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Belize, Portugal, Spain and Cuba .[2][5] (ulsa) Important venues in which it has appeared include the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Sala Nezahualcoyotl of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City and the Teatro Francisco Javier Clavijero in Veracruz.[2] The ensemble prefers open venues for large audiences and never charges admission for its performances.[5]
^ abJorge Sifuentes Cañas (December 20, 2011). "La Banda Sinfónica de la Marina en Jojutla" [The Symphonic Band of the Navy in Jojutla] (in Spanish). Cuernavaca, Mexico: La Jornada Morelos. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^ abcdeEmiliano Balerini Casal (December 26, 2011). "La artillería musical, el otro ejército" [The musical artillier, the other army] (in Spanish). Mexico City: Milenio. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^"Banda Sinfónica de la Marina" [Symphonic Band of the Navy] (in Spanish). Mexico City: Universidad La Salle. June 1, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^Miram Gonzalez Gutierrez (August 12, 2007). "Festejan con la Marina" [Celebrate with the Navy] (in Spanish). Torreon, Mexico: El Siglo de Torreón. Retrieved April 16, 2013.