Ensemble Il Valenciano stars this Friday in Benidorm Great Recital Cycle

This Friday, April 4, Benidorm City Hall Auditorium will host a new concert in the Great Recitals series featuring the Ensemble Il Valenciano, formed in 2020 by Benidorm-born oboist Gonzalo Devesa to promote and disseminate the music of lesser-known Spanish composers to the general public.

On this occasion, the ensemble will be represented by Gonzalo Devesa and Graham Jackson, both professors at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid (RCSMM). With an oboe and a piano, they will perform music by Spanish composers, such as Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) with "El amor brujo" (The Witch's Love); or the Alicante-born Óscar Navarro with "Legacy"; and Ricardo Llorca with "El combat del somni" (The Combat of Dreams). The latter, based in New York but originally from Benidorm, also recently received the Community of Madrid Culture Award for Classical Music.

The Councilor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez, announced that the event will begin at 8:00 p.m. and admission is free until the venue is full. He also invited "citizens and visitors to come and enjoy this concert, featuring two high-level musicians who, I have no doubt, will offer a magnificent recital."

Gonzalo Devesa (oboe)

He began his training at the Unión Musical and the Benidorm Conservatory, where he received the Extraordinary Award. He later graduated from the Valencia Conservatory. He holds a PhD cum laude in Art and Production from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. He holds two Master's degrees in Education and Artistic Teaching. From 2018 to 2024, he was an oboe professor at the Granada Conservatory of Music. Previously, he was at the Conservatory of Music of Castilla-La Mancha. He is currently a professor of chamber music for the Professorial Staff of Music and Performing Arts at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid (RCSMM). He also received the 2024 Radio Benidorm-Cadena SER Award for his lifetime achievement in music.

As a performer, he has been a member of the Netherlands National Youth Orchestra, the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra, and the Juventudes Musicales World Orchestra (JMWO/TWO), among others. He was also a member of the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra in New York, an orchestra with which he toured throughout the United States (Texas, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, etc.), performing in major venues across the country, including the Chicago Opera House. He was subsequently selected by the Orquesta do Norte in Porto (Portugal), the Bankia Symphony Orchestra, and, as principal oboe, by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra (Egypt). He has also collaborated with the Valencia Municipal Band, the ADDA Symphony Orchestra, the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra, the Andorra Opera, the Palestine National Orchestra, the Alicante Symphony Orchestra, the Valencian Community Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Cecilia Classical Orchestra of Madrid, with whom he has performed at the Teatro Real and the National Auditorium of Spain. He has also been invited as a soloist to various international festivals in South Africa, Switzerland, Lebanon, Armenia, Italy, and Jordan.

As part of his artistic research, he directs several final degree projects and doctoral theses. His publications include his reconstruction of Vicente Martín y Soler's opera "Una cosa rara" (A Rare Thing), published by Dos Acordes. He also serves on the editorial committee of the Anuario de filosofía de la música (Oviedo, Spain).

Graham Jackson (piano)

He studied at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he won several awards for his performances of works by Beethoven, Mozart, and John Ireland.

After graduating, he continued his studies for two years under the direction of Joan Havill, earning the Concert Recital Diploma. He furthered his studies thanks to several scholarships, including those from the Countess of Munster Society, and continued for three years at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest with Péter Solmos and Ferenc Rados. During this time, he gave numerous concerts and won a prize in the Leo Weiner Competition. He made his successful debut in chamber music at Wigmore Hall in London and as a soloist at the Purcell Room. Since 1990, pianist Graham Jackson has lived in Madrid, where his professional career is divided between concert and teaching. He has performed in countries such as Poland, Russia, Portugal, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Jamaica, and more. In Spain, he has performed at the National Auditorium (Madrid), the Juan March Foundation, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, and Palau de Les Arts, and has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra of the Community of Madrid. He has played with the Granada Orchestra and the RTVE Orchestra. He is also frequently invited to give courses and master classes.

He has collaborated with eminent musicians such as Auréle Nicolet, William Bennet, Felix Ayo, Rivka Golani, Raphael Walfisch, and others. He has also recorded for national radio and television.

He has worked at Reina Sofía School of Music, teaching violin with Zakhar Bron and horn with Radovan Vlatkovic. He is currently a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid.