Promúsica Choir Mexico A.C. The Promúsica Choir is made up of amateur polyphonic singers and follows the tradition of European amateur choirs. It was founded in 1985 by Xavier Torresarpi and is currently directed by Samuel Pascoe Aguilar and César Castro, his assistant director. The motto “We sing for the joy of singing” summarizes its philosophy. In its more than thirty years of existence, in addition to its principal conductor, the Promúsica Choir has been led by outstanding conductors such as Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Enrique Diemecke, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Enrique Barrios, Enrique Bátiz, Eduardo Diazmuñoz, Fernando Lozano, Jorge Velazco, Miguel Bernal Matus, José Areán, León and Carlos Spierer, Zuohuang Chen, Louis Clark, José María Vitier, Leo Krämer, Alun Francis, Gabriela Díaz, Alatriste, Charles Dodsley Walker, Marijn Simons, and Jonathan Griffith. She has also had the opportunity to receive masterclasses from soprano Margaret Lattimore, a member of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Her repertoire includes works such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana, Mahler's Eighth and Third Symphonies, Vivaldi's Gloria; Mozart's Coronation Mass, Requiem, and Solemn Vespers of a Confessor, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's The Creation and Mass in Wartime, Gounod's Missa Solemne di Sainte-Cécile, Verdi's Requiem, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Shostakovich's Second and Third Symphonies, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Brahms' Liebeslieder, and Poulenc's Gloria, among others. It also includes works such as Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla, great choruses from romantic operas, works by the Mexican Baroque composer Manuel de Sumaya, and Pascoe's Cantos de Primavera, a work inspired by poems of King Nezahualcóyotl and premiered in October 2016. Furthermore, in November 2014, they performed at the XXVI Morelia International Music Festival, interpreting Miguel Bernal Jiménez's Missa Aeterna Trinitatis. Promúsica has performed with the country's most prestigious orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Minería Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra, the State of Mexico Philharmonic, the Mexico City Chamber Orchestra, the Bellas Artes Chamber Orchestra, the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, the IPN Symphony Orchestra, and the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra. In January 2013, they participated in the Canterbury Choral Society's 60th Anniversary concert in New York, performing Mahler's Eighth Symphony at Carnegie Hall, thus becoming the first Mexican choir to ever perform at this venue. In November 2017, they participated in the closing concert of the Distinguished Concerts International New York season, performing Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall, under the direction of Jonathan Griffith. More recently, in June 2022, they returned to Carnegie Hall, presenting Carmina Burana, along with other international choirs, again under Griffith's baton. In 2022 and 2023, the Promúsica Choir had the honor of participating in the closing concerts of the First and Second San Miguel Allende Arts Festival in Guanajuato, organized by Casa Europa. The Promúsica Choir is proud to contribute to the dissemination and development of musical culture in Mexico, supporting talented young Mexican singers with scholarships for their studies. In 2016, they founded and sponsored a children's choir from an indigenous community in Texcoco, Mexico. PIANIST CURRICULUM: SVETLANA OLEGOVNA LOGOUNOVA PAVLOVA She was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan (former USSR) in 1966 and began her musical studies at the age of 5. She studied at the Baiseitova Music School from 1973 to 1984. She graduated in 1989 from the Gnessin Music Pedagogical Institute in Moscow, Russia, with a Master of Fine Arts degree specializing in chamber soloist, accompanist, and piano teacher. She has resided in Mexico since 1989. As a pianist, she has performed with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Minería Symphony Orchestra, the Bajío Symphony Orchestra, and the “Carlos Chávez” Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of renowned conductors such as Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Sergio Cárdenas, Jorge Mester, and Enrique Barrios. Her performances have taken her to various cities in Mexico, as well as to cities in Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Armenia. Svetlana Logounova has collaborated as a pianist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Minería Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, and the State of Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a piano teacher and accompanist at the National Conservatory of Music and at the "Life and Movement" school of the "Ollin Yoliztli" Cultural Center. She has been a guest lecturer at Maestra has been invited on several occasions as a juror and accompanying pianist in various piano competitions and as a judging panel member for the PECDA grants of the Ministry of Culture. DIRECTOR'S CURRICULUM: César Castro Mexican choral director, singer, and vocal pedagogue, graduated with honors from the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. He has specialized training from the International Society of Mexican Arts Values and the National System for Musical Development, as well as vocal pedagogy studies with Carlos Aransay in Mexico, Janice Chapman in London, and Kenneth Bozeman in the USA. He studied choral conducting with David Arontes and has participated in conducting seminars with André Quadros, Antonio López Ríos, Eduardo Díaz Muñoz, among others. He is an artistic fellow of the Goethe-Institut - Mexico and the INBA Foundation for specialization in German language and phonetics abroad (Austria). He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Panamerican Voice Association, and is certified in Posture and Movement training by the Philippe Campignion Training Center in France. He holds a Master's degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Technology from the UNED (National University of Distance Education) in Madrid, Spain. He has participated in specialized courses in Vocal Acoustics in the United States. He was awarded a grant from the National Fund for Culture and the Arts in 2020. For ten years, he directed a cappella vocal ensembles and choral groups specializing in religious, classical, and popular music, winning awards at choral competitions and festivals. He has been a member of the Promusica A.C. Choir for over 20 years, where he currently serves as co-director. EVENT PROGRAM: Suggested Program: 1. Cielito Lindo / Quirino Mendoza 2. Mexican Medley / Ramón Noble 3. Bésame Mucho / Consuelo Velázquez 4. Vois sur ton chemin / Christophe Barratier 5. In Memoriam / Christophe Barratier 6. Caresse sur l’océan / Christophe Barratier 7. El Caminante del Mayab / Guty Cardenas 8. Un Rayito de Sol / Guty Cardenas 9. Tehuantepec / Pepe Guizar 10. Les Voici! Voici la quadrille (Carmen) / G. Bizet 11. Pavana / Gabriel Fauré 12. Après un rêve / Gabriel Fauré 13. Cantique / Gabriel Fauré 14. Balajú / Son Jarocho 15. La bamba / Son Jarocho 16. Le Jour où La pluie viendra / Gilbert Bécaud and Raymond Lefebre 17. Mexico Lindo / Traditional Mexican