BANDA ATENEU MUSICAL DE LA VILA JOIOSA (Alicante)

Director:
PEDRO SALINAS ROBLES

Band profile

The band was founded in 1925 with 25 musicians under the direction of Antonio Rodríguez Ortiz. Ambrosio Mayans and Fernando Penella revived the band after the civil war and Francisco Lacalle Blasco went on to direct the band from 1960 until 1996.
The band participates in numerous competitions, and in 1984 won first prize in its category in the Valencia regional band competition.
The band has presented, together with the Jaume Baldó choir, the pieces 'Sobre la Vida, Contra la Mort' and 'Pel vell camí d'escurna blanca'. It has also presented Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Johan De Meij. The band stresses the importance of teaching.
Between 1996 and 1997, Enrique Muñoz Sancho and Rafael Mullor Grau directed the band. Important recent prizes have included first category prizes at the Benidorm and regional band contests.

Director profile

Pedro Salinas Robles was born in Requena (Valencia) and began studying clarinet in his hometown. He later extended his studies in analysis, harmony, piano, and twentieth-century music, at Buñol, Valencia, and Rotterdam conservatories. He has taken advanced clarinet courses with J. V. Peñarrocha, J. Tomás (Orquesta Nacional de España), J. E. Lluna, Cervera Collado, Gómez Martínez; and a course of orchestral management with Ventaj Jordania. He gave his first concert at the age of 11 and has since given concerts throughout Valencia - as well as Berlin, Rotterdam, and Maastrich. In 1996, he won the 'Jongen Solisten' prize and took second place in the Erasmus University competition. In 1997, he gave advanced classes at the La Armónica in Buñol in Valencia.
At 15 he began directing with the Santa Cecilia band in Chera (Valencia), and the Gaspar Sanz band in Calanda. He has guest directed the Santa Cecilia band in Requena, the Netherlands Studenten Kamer Orkest, the University of Delft orchestra, and the Rotterdam conservatory symphony orchestra. He was invited to direct the world premiere of the 'Bachanal' by the prestigious composer Paul Van Brügge. He has been twice a finalist in the Sibelius Academy selection competition - Europe's most renowned school of orchestral directing. He was also a finalist in the Cartagena competition. He has composed and edited many pieces for band, piano, and chamber orchestra.
He was assistant director to the Valencia regional youth orchestra. As director of the Ateneu Musical de Villajoyosa he won first prize in the first category of the Alicante provincial competition and second prize in the first category of the Valencia regional competition. He is also director of the music school and a teacher in the orchestra of the Benidorm professional conservatory.