The Spanish Pablo Urbina, new chief conductor of the Orquestra do Algarve of Portugal

The young Spanish Pablo Urbina (Vitoria, 1988) has been named new Principal Conductor of the Orquestra do Algarve of Portugal and will debut in this new position on January 31.

Precisely, in this first concert at the head of the Orquestra do Algarve the program will be made up of works by the English composers Ruth Gipps –‘Cringlemire Garden’– and Malcolm Arnold –‘Variations on a theme by Ruth Gipps’ and ‘Serenade for Small Ochestra’–, as well as Franz Joseph Haydn’s ‘Symphony No. 93’.

“I sincerely appreciate that a Portuguese orchestra opts for a Spanish conductor to strengthen the ties that unite both countries so much.. I am very happy to begin this new professional stage with the Orquesta do Algarve, an orchestra that has shown me special affection from the first moment we worked together, at the end of 2023. Portugal is a country where I feel at home and where I believe I can develop the work that I would like to carry out as a musician and conductor: bring classical music closer to all audiences and really be able to change and improve society, step by step,” Urbina said in a statement.

After his concert last Saturday at the Granada International Music Festival conducting, in front of the City of Granada Orchestra, Alfonso de Vilallonga’s soundtrack of the film ‘Snow White’ by Pablo Berger in a screening with live music, Pablo Urbina will return this season to conduct the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Orquestra Sem Fronteiras and will make his debut with the Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, among other projects.