Vocal auditions for the Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir

The Princess of Asturias Foundation’s Music Department has convened auditions to select voices to join the institution’s Choir. Auditions will be held on 10th and 12th September between 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

This call seeks contralto, tenor and bass voices in view of the Choir’s new artistic commitments for the upcoming season, which will include works by Handel, Mozart and Brahms, among others.

Those interested may contact the Foundation’s Music Department either by calling 985 25 87 55 or via email, providing their personal details, contact information and experience in choirs.

Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir

In keeping with the traditional love of Asturians for choral music, the Princess of Asturias Foundation established a polyphonic ensemble in 1983 with the aim of elevating its performance to the highest of levels. Conducted by José Esteban García Miranda since 1989, the Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir is considered an outstanding amateur group that enjoys recognized prestige on the international scene. In December 2007, the European Parliament distinguished the Choir via an extraordinary acknowledgement “for its outstanding services to the European Union”. Throughout its history, it has also been conducted by Luis Gutiérrez Arias, Sabas Calvillo, Víctor Pablo Pérez and Luis Vila. Jesús López Cobos, 1981 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, was joint honorary conductor of the Choir until his death in 2018, along with Krzysztof Penderecki, who died in 2020 and who received the same award in 2001. 

The Choir has toured Europe, America and the Middle East. In Europe, it has performed in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Russia, the UK, Greece and Portugal. It has also performed in Jerusalem, Tampa (Florida), Washington, New York –in St Patrick’s Cathedral and at the Lincoln Center– on the occasion of Columbus Day, in São Paulo, Mexico City and Bogotá. Furthermore, in 2004 it was invited to participate at the marriage of Their Majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia, performing during the traditional offering of the bride’s bouquet to the Virgin in the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha. It has also performed Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor alongside the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Muti, 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts; alongside the orchestra and soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, conducted by the institution’s artistic and general director Valery Gergiev; excerpts from Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal; The Dream of Gerontis, Op. 38 by Edward Elgar, under the baton of Rossen Milanov; as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Ivan the Terrible, respectively conducted by Pedro Amaral and Mykola Dyadyura. During these years, the Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir has likewise been conducted by outstanding maestros such as Marcus Creed, Friedrich Haider, Ros Marbá, Peter Maag, John Neschling, Yuri Bashmet, Alberto Zedda, Paul Mann, Jesús López Cobos, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Neville Marriner, Marzio Conti, Juanjo Mena and Jonathan Webb. It has also collaborated with the Symphony Orchestra of the State of São Paulo; the Vienna Sinfonietta Classical Orchestra; the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, belonging to the National Network of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela (2008 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts); and the Philharmonic Orchestra (OFUNAM) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities), among others. In 2022, the Choir accompanied the Asturian musician Víctor Manuel in four symphonic concerts on the occasion of his 75th anniversary tour, which included a performance at the WiZink Center in Madrid before more than eight thousand people.