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About
Founded in 1897, the Orfeón Donostiarra combines its long history with the prestige of being considered the most important choir in Spain. Its repertoire covers one hundred symphonic-choral pieces, more than fifty operas and zarzuelas and many folk and polyphonic pieces. José Antonio Sainz Alfaro has been its director since 1987, and was preceded by Secundino Esnaola, Juan Gorostidi and Antxon Ayestarán.
Despite preserving its initial amateur spirit, the Orfeón works with a professional dedication, with an average of 35 to 40 concerts per year. It regularly participates in Spain’s most important music festivals. It has been a regular feature of the Musical Fortnight in San Sebastian, which in 1997 awarded the Orfeón its Gold Medal, and has only been absent on eight occasions since the event was first held. That same year the Granada Festival awarded the Orfeón its medal for “artistic and professional relevance and for its long-standing ties” to this event. To date it has performed in 33 editions of the Santander Festival. It has also regularly participated in the festival of the Canary Islands, in which it closed the 2007 and 2008 editions under the direction of Rattle and Muti, respectively, and also in the Peralada and Cuenca festivals.