the Alba Sanchez Torremoca from Salamanca Despite her youth, she has a distinctive voice Award-winning composer, bandleader and multi-instrumentalist, Effortlessly incorporating contemporary instrumental textures and melodies, to create a vibrant and captivating musical atmosphere. Despite his young age, his works have been premiered all over the world, and his soundtracks for films, television and video games continue to receive mentions and awards at international festivals.
Summing up her career, before sitting down to chat casually on the balcony in her beloved “Plaza Mayor Salamanca”, Alba began her musical studies at the age of five. His interests soon gravitated to composing and conducting, the latter sponsored by Maestro Ignacio García Vidal, with whom he took conducting lessons. Finally, he chose to study composition, a specialty he studied at Moscini, where he took lessons from famous composers such as Gabriel Ercurica, Ramón Lazcano, and Jesús Rueda. He graduates with the highest grades in his class. His interest in film music led him to pursue a master’s degree at the prestigious New York University, where he also graduated with honors.
Recently, the NYU Symphony premiered their work “Serendipia” at Symphony Space in New York, and the NYU Percussion Ensemble premiered “Vox” at the Loewe Theater (New York). He has worked on commissions for Duo Collailm (Ireland) and Bifrost Ensemble (Norway). He has lived in New York continuously for eight years, and is spending it this week in Salamanca, where he attended the premiere of a new space-time symphony that immerses us in contemporary music, performed by the Salamanca City Youth Symphony Orchestra, of which he was a part. He wrote this piece to express “Gratitude”, under the direction of young director Sergio Manuel García González.
Question: How was the experience of your first piece for the Salamanca City Youth Symphony Orchestra’s first season concert last Sunday?
Answer: It was a pleasure to return to Salamanca, and to return to the Orchestra Hall, where I spent many years and trained many.
Q: Did you expect the successful result and great acceptance you received under the supervision of your friend Sergio M. Garcia?
A: The truth is that it went very well. I think people liked that a lot. In fact, they played part of it and people stood up and applauded. A concert in which Sergio did an impeccable job at work.
Q: Alba, why did you go to live in New York?
A: I decided that I wanted to devote myself to film music, and New York was the place and the school where you could do it best, and where you would have the most contacts with film music.
“New York is the place and the school where I can devote myself to photographing music in the best way.”
Q: What is the difference between film music and other music?
A: That’s a good question. What film music has is that it is connected to an image and narrative that has already been created. So, you have to add music to an already existing story, adapt it to those times, and synchronize the image. Whereas the music, what we call concert, classical music, is completely free and not tied to any visual element. This way, you can create your structure however you want and put together your story in your head to tell with music.
Q: Do you have any experience with any of the soundtracks, performances or songs in any film?
A: Yes, actually, that’s what I do most of all, which is composing soundtracks for short films, documentaries or films. As I say, I also have experience composing soundtracks for TV series. From Salamanca to New York to compose soundtracks for Netflix series. And here I am.
Q: Do you also compose music for TV commercials?
A: I wrote some. But I’m not particularly dedicated to it.
Q: How do you see your return? Have you found any change in the youth in Salamanca, or in any case seen what good music, let’s say classical, is in Salamanca?
A: All members of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Salamanca have changed. Obviously I haven’t played here in 12 years. So, the image of orchestral musicians has changed a lot, but the orchestra itself and the work it does, remains the same. The truth is that it was a pleasure to return and have that experience in Salamanca.
Question: How do you see, let’s call it in quotes, the flight of talent, as it might be the case in your case, out of Castile and León and out of Spain?
A: Well, it’s really unfortunate. Every time I come I feel very sad, not only in Salamanca, but I also studied music in San Sebastian, and there are people from all over Spain who have left, and they are in Norway, in Austria, and they are abroad. . The truth is that it is unfortunate, because the state invests a lot of resources and a lot of time in training a person, and when that person has the ability to give back to the city and the country a little bit of what they gave him. There is no way to do this. For example, someone like me, if I had stayed in Salamanca, I would not have been able to do any film music, or I would not have progressed in a career like music. And that’s really a shame.
“It is a shame that the state invests so much resources in training people, and when it comes to being able to give back the little bit of education they have received, there is no way to do it.”
Q: What’s next for Alba Sanchez Torremoca?
A: I will try to make this piece debut here, the first of many, since I already have an established career in New York, already have my connections there and have made my life. I’m looking forward to returning a little more to Spain and my city and, as I say, bringing back a little of the experiences and resources that this country has given me. So, I’ll try to make more connections, bring in more new pieces and ideas and see what happens.
Question: But you don’t leave New York.
A: Leave, no. Maybe we live a little bit in two worlds.
Q: How do you see classical music today with the modern trends that exist? Can classical music be a bastion of good music?
A: What I really like about film music, or the way the culture is viewed in the United States, is that the connection with the audience has not been lost. There are many good things. For example, music or culture is seen as just another product, but at the same time, this means that artists and creatives still have this connection to what people will like, what they want, and can be successful. It seems to me that it is an important element, and it has been somewhat lost in Europe because of the culture of supporting artists. Which is very good to help, but it also creates a disconnect where artists are in their bubble, creating their work without being aware of what people may or may not like. So, I would like to try to create a balance between these two worlds and bring a little bit of art to people.
Composer from Salamanca Alba Sánchez Torremoca, in the Plaza Mayor before returning to New York
Question: There is a lot of talk in Spain about supporting culture, which is what you mentioned. Does this also exist in the United States?
A: It exists, but in a different way. I think it’s a cultural mindset. Even if they give you money to make a piece of music, and there are many institutions that do that, you are expected to compose in a style that is accessible and people understand. So there is, but to a much lesser extent and with a different kind of mentality.
Question: We will compare Salamanca, on a cultural level, to a city, for example, I will not say New York, but to a typical city in the United States. Is there a big difference?
A: It’s a difficult question, because I think Salamanca has a lot of shows, and people come out because the shows interest them. In my opinion, what Salamanca lacks is the diversity of the type of culture consumed in the United States. Because there are so many people from different places, the cultural offerings are very diverse, and people are exposed to different styles.
Q: Explain to us what you mean by “diversity”.
A: Yes, in the musical field, for example, music from different countries as well, because in the United States, especially in New York, as we know, is a multicultural cradle. So, exposure to different ways of visualizing rhythm, visualizing melody. For example, music that comes from Africa or India, which has a completely different concept of time and rhythms. And it seems to me that this greatly affects the artists there and the residents as well, because they are exposed to this kind of diversity.
Q: In an unwise way. Did you follow the Grammys?
A: The truth is, it’s not much. I have several friends who have nominations, for example, the New York Philharmonic, or my friend, Sarah MacDonald, who has nominations. I’ve already played with a progressive rock symphonic band and toured with them this summer in Canada and the northern US. There they were nominated. I have to look to see who won and what happened there.
Question: Is this an example of Latin culture and music having a great moment?
A: Yes exactly. They destroy everything.
Related news
