Rafael Doménech receives the tribute from SM La Nova at the 11th anniversary concert of the entity

The director and composer Rafael Doménech received the tribute from Societat Musical La Nova on Saturday. The concert that the entity offered on the occasion of its 11th anniversary in the auditorium of the cultural center was dedicated to him and in which pieces by Rafael Doménech himself were played, such as the 'pasodobles' 'Francisco Antón, Picorro' and 'Embrujo de Anna', with which the first and second part of the recital were opened respectively. They completed the program 'Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone' by André Waigneim; 'Oblivion' by Astor Piazzolla; 'Flamenco palindrome by Antonio Ruda Peco; and 'Highlights from Chess' by Ulvaes and Andersson.

The mayor, Toni Pérez; the Councilor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez; members of the Corporation; and the honoree himself, accompanied by his family, attended the concert, which was a successful audience in the auditorium.

Under the baton of Francisco José Rovira Peretó, SM La Nova closed the concert program with the 'pasodoble' that the director composed for Rafael Doménech in 2007. But beyond the program, the musical entity had two surprises in store for the honoree and the public.

Thus, the band performed 'Granada', by Agustín Lara, to commemorate the stage of the honoree in Sonartis Group, a group with which he performed for years in a well-known nightclub in Benidorm. And as a climax to the act, Rovira Peretó handed over the baton to Rafael Doménech so that he directed SM La Nova in the interpretation of his famous paso doble 'Fiesta en Benidorm', which the audience enthusiastically accompanied with clapping.

The mayor stressed the merits of this tribute to a person who has trained several generations of musicians in Benidorm. During his speech, he referred to the delivery of the "band director who is not a musician" and who is in charge of "logistics", "obtaining aid" and "promoting projects". Toni Pérez highlighted the work of the people who have dedicated themselves to this task for decades and who "made it possible for Benidorm to have a historical-musical and cultural tour unimaginable in the 70s when Rafael Doménech arrived in the city, some wonderful conservatories, schools of students and three music bands that feed the soul, spirit, and culture of this city with concerts as wonderful as today's”.

In addition to honoring the 'Mestre' Rafael Doménech, SM La Nova, through its president, Juan Vicente Moreno, presented a metope to the musician José Antonio Carmona on the tenth anniversary of his joining the band.