February 16, 2017
The Unicaja Foundation sponsors the national tour of the Jerez singer's new symphonic show José Mercé , which includes 10 concerts in cities such as Málaga, Marbella, Seville, Jaén, Córdoba, Madrid or Badajoz.
The sponsorship of this show by the Unicaja Foundation responds to its interest in promoting and supporting cultural initiatives in its field of action in general, and is part of the activities that the entity organizes in order to bring music closer to the general public. The artist presented today at the Unicaja Room by María Cristina Concerts from Malaga the national tour of 'Mercé sinfónico' , in which he fuses flamenco with the instrumental resources of a philharmonic orchestra. Specifically, it has the Partiture Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Juan Paulo Gómez.
This new show by Mercé, presented at a press conference in which the artist himself was present; the General Director of the Unicaja Foundation, Sergio Corral; the Artistic Director of the Partiture Philharmonic Orchestra, Juan Paulo Gómez, and the Producer and Director of this musical group, Jesús Paulano, is an embrace between their most popular repertoire and the elegance of a symphony orchestra. This is a debut of his repertoire.
In his work he has dared to innovate, mixing flamenco with other musical genres such as blues or singing with renowned artists from the current pop scene. In fact, he has managed to give this style, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, high levels of popularity, but without letting it lose its essence.
Numerous recognitions
Among the numerous recognitions that Mercé has, the concession in 2010 by the Andalusian Government of the Medal of Andalusia , the title of Ambassador of Andalusia in 2012, the Ciudad de Jerez Award in 2013 or the Taranto de Oro, which rewards the career and importance of a flamenco artist. Likewise, he was awarded the Masters of Mediterranean Music in 2014, awarded by the prestigious North American private music university Berklee College of Music.
In his latest work, 'Doy la cara' (2016), composed of great classics of Spanish music performed as a duet with the most outstanding artists on the current scene, such as Joaquín Sabina, Pablo Alborán, Alejandro Sanz, Álvaro Urquijo, Ainhoa Arteta, Chabuco, Andrés Calamaro, Jorge Drexler or Vanesa Martín, evidence that innovation and daring are constants in their discography.
For its part, the Partiture Philharmonic Orchestra is a project co-founded and directed by Jesús Paulano, graduate in Business Sciences, businessman and executive producer of Partiture Producciones, and director Juan Paulo Gómez, professor of Orchestral Conducting.
Its official presentation took place in October 2014 at the Nuevo Teatro Infanta Leonor in Jaén, within the Autumn Music Festival of this city. For that occasion, as on so many others, the orchestra had violinist Ara Malikian as a guest soloist, who served as godfather of the group during its birth. Currently, musicians and artists of recognized prestige collaborate with this project, in which promising young people also participate, being the first orchestral formation in the province of Jaén to debut, with great success among the public and critics, at the National Music Auditorium.