One World Symphony
José Pietri-Coimbre will perform in the World Premiere performance of Sung Jin Hong's opera Breaking Bad — Ozymandias
(2014) on January 26 and 27, 2014 as a part of One World Symphony's
Addiction concert. The program will also feature music from Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and Berlioz's La mort d'Ophélie. Tickets are available online at oneworldsymphony.org
Can
you please tell us a little about your heritage? Are any of your family
members musicians? If so, what do they do? Any family rituals/routines,
talents you'd like to tell us?
I was born
and raised in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, before I came to the
continental USA to pursue graduate studies in music. None of my
immediate family members were professional musicians, but many of them
pursued musical studies as amateurs to a certain extent mostly focused
on classical music. Some continue to perform as a hobby mostly as
singers in choirs, chamber ensembles, musical theater, etc. My late
father, although not musically trained per se, had a great voice and had
a great ability to accompany himself by ear with the guitar and also
with piano. He also wrote a number of songs, mostly Christian songs,
that have been used in Catholic/Christian communities in the Hispanic
world. I now enjoy being able to pass on the musical legacy in my
current household: my beautiful six-year old daughter Clara plays violin
and sings — and has fun with it.
Can
you please tell us about the composer and the composition that you are
performing? What makes the work special and what are you looking forward
to the most when you will be performing it?
Sung Jin Hong, the composer of Breaking Bad — Ozymandias
(2014), and I have been working for many years together. He is
extremely energetic and creative and I have enjoyed witnessing the
progression of his work as a composer since he started pursuing that
aspect of his career. His opera shows a very personal, deep twist of the
thoughts and emotions of the characters. One of the things that I look
forward to the most is the challenge of bringing to life through music
and words the contrast between the different states of mind of the
character of Walter White. Sung Jin shows in his opera the drastic
difference between Walter's tender, vulnerable moments and his ruthless
embracing of the darkest feelings.
Why
would you recommend our public to attend One World Symphony's Addiction
show on January 26 and 27, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. at Holy Apostles Church?
The
musical selections for the "Addiction" program are very varied and yet
share a connection that I think the audience will identify and feel part
of. Also the music chosen is of great quality, and some of it of superb
beauty.
You have been a
collaborative artist with One World Symphony in many projects. What has
been the highlight of your One World Symphony career to date?
I
have actually had two highlights with One World Symphony to this day.
One is being a last-moment replacement for the main male role of The Cunning Little Vixen
by Leos Janacek, the Forester. The opera is very difficult but also
extremely beautiful, and I managed to learn the role in one week and
sing it with score in hand for a semi-staged version. I couldn't have
done it without the support from the fabulous cast and guidance from the
stage director Adrienne Metzinger and artistic director Sung Jin Hong.
The other highlight was being concertmaster for the performance of
Richard Strauss' The Four Last Songs.
I had wanted for many years to perform these songs, as they have always
been very meaningful to me and among the top of the list of my all-time
favorite classical-music works.
What made you decide to become a musician?
The
pursuit of my musical understanding and artistry has defined and
re-defined- for the better - who I am and how I see the world since I was very
young. When the time came to make a career choice decision I could not
see myself doing anything else. I think I feel and "see" clearly what is
being expressed in most music, and I continue to enjoy developing this
ability as both a performer and a teacher.
Puerto-Rican born José Pietri-Coimbre
has distinguished himself as an orchestral, chamber music, and solo
violinist, and as a vocal soloist. He made his operatic debut as the Forester
in One World Symphony’s critically-acclaimed production of Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen in May 2010. He later performed Dancairo in Bizet’s Carmen, Chevalier in Poulenc’s The Dialogues of the Carmelites in 2011 and scenes from Peter Grimes
in 2012. As a violinist and violist, he has held principal positions at
One World Symphony, Puerto Rico Sinfonietta, the National Orchestral
Institute Orchestra, Bronx Opera, and the Queens Philharmonia. A
founding member of Cuarteto Ensue–o, he is dedicated to the performance
of Spanish and Latin American art music of instrumental and vocal
genres. Mr. Pietri-Coimbre performs regularly as a soloist and chamber
musician at the Con Vivo Chamber Players concert series in Jersey City,
NJ, and as violinist and tenor for the Luci Toscane Music and Cultural
Arts Festival, in Italy and in Wisconsin. He has performed at the
Chamber Music Live Series at Flushing Town Hall and the Lefrak Concert
Hall, and at in several notable music festivals. He served as
concertmaster as part of the Siena Summer Session for the Music and the
Arts in Italy and Switzerland.
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