Galician Chamber Orchestra

Founded in 1995, the Galician Chamber Orchestra (GCO) made its debut at the XLIV Festival of Opera of A Coruña. Since then it has presented a repertoire that spans different epochs and styles, from the early baroque to the contemporary music, giving much importance to the living composers. In this aspect, since 2003, its activity has been bound to the study and diffusion of Rogelio Groba Groba´s work, in a close and constant collaboration with the R. Groba Foundation.

The GCO, which is formed by professional musicians graduated from different European conservatoires, has collaborated with such celebrated musicians as Ara Malikian, Juan de Udaeta, Jose Luís Estellés, Anthony Pay, Teresa Berganza and Juan Lomba.  It has also made recordings for the RTVG and RTVE, participated in the 6^th and 7^th editions of the International Festival of Galicia, and in numerous concerts throughout Spain. In 2005 the orchestra performed the world premiere of Manuel Garcia’s opera "Don Quixote".

GCO´s first CD, released by the Boanergies label, has received great critical acclaim in the specialized press, highlighting the "five stars to the best sound" from the famous magazine “Amadeus”. It includes Rakov´s, Elgar´s, Groba Groba´s and Groba Otero´s works. The second CD of the GCO, exclusively formed by Rogelio Groba's works on his 75^th Anniversary, has been released in 2005 by the Iberautor of the SGAE label. Its third CD is a double live recording of Manuel Garcia’s opera "Don Quixote" made in the Real Maestranza of Seville, released by Almaviva label of the Musical Documentation Centre of the Council of Andalusia.

GCO has performed in the Spanish Modern section of the prestigious Festival of Vienna presenting absolute premieres of works of Galician composers and was given a warm reception by the audience.  In August, 2008 the orchestra made a successful tour in Argentina, playing in such emblematic places as the Dardo Rocha of La Plata Auditorium, the Former Congress of the Republic of Argentina or the Metropolitan Theatre of Buenos Aires. As a proof of their success at the concert of La Plata, all the orchestra members were given the titles of "honorary guests" of the place. This series of concerts became the beginning of an intense tour realized in the last four-month period of the year, with performances in Galicia and Spain.

In 2008, besides the numerous concerts in Spain, the GCO realized a number of concerts in New York, among which the performance of the orchestra in the Merkin Concert Hall of the Kaufman Foundation, where the world premiere of  Rogelio Groba Groba´s " Concert in bows "was performed, should be emphasized.

The GCO follows the 18^th century model of conducting, with Rogelio Groba Otero acting as the conductor and concertmaster of the orchestra from the very beginning of its formation.

ROGELIO GROBA OTERO BIOGRAPHY

As a violin and chamber music graduate of Superior Conservatory, Rogelio Groba continued his musical training for several years in London Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Detlef Hann.
In 1995 he founds the Galician Chamber Music Orchestra, becoming its conductor and concertmaster. In 2000 he conducts the recording of his own work, the "Divertimento para cordas", which is included in the first CD of the orchestra. In 2005 the recording of the second CD was entirely dedicated to the work of his father Rogelio Groba Groba. He also took part in the recovery of Manuel Garcia’s opera "Don Quixote ". His orchestra performed the premiere of the opera, and made its live recording in the Theatre of Real Maestranza of Seville. In May, 2007 Groba successfully conducted the GCO in the Spanish Modern Festival of Vienna, interpreting works of Galician composers, and was highly praised both by the critics and the public.  The tour throughout Argentina in August was successful and served as an introduction to a series of concerts given in Galicia and the rest of Spain. Then, in 2008, was the debut in the Merkin Concert Hall of Kaufman Foundation in New York.
The GCO has made recordings for the Galician Radio, TVG, TV3, TVE and RNE and has realised numerous performances in Spain, Portugal, France, Austria, Great Britain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Venezuela.
Rogelio Groba, the conductor and concertmaster of the Galician Chamber Music Orchestra, is also the president of the Galician Association of Chamber music, the patron of Rogelio Groba Groba Foundation, violin and chamber music teacher at the Superior Conservatory of Music of A Coruña and the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the same conservatory.

MEMBERS OF THE GALICIAN CHAMBER MUSIC ORCHESTRA

VIOLINS
Rogelio Groba (conductor -concertmaster)
Beatriz Rodriguez.
Enrique Agrelo.
Manuel Fernandez.
Tania Capón.
Javier Fernandez.
Antonio Facal.
Rafael Carrasco.
Moisés Gestal.
Pablo Rodriguez.
Angel Calvo

VIOLAS
Raquel Sanpedro
Diego Segade
Arturo Valderrey

CELLOS
Clara Groba
Elena Mª Pérez
Alexandre Llano

DOUBLE-BASS
Adolfo Alemany
Joaquín Pallás