Meet Theresia: Lino Mendoza

By Emilia Campagna - February 22, 2019

"Theresia has a very particular way to bond between the members of the projects: since the beginning you can feel like you are part of a family. "
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People of Theresia come from many places in the world: double bass player Lino Mendoza, 31 years old, came to study in Europe from Mexico. Let’s know something more about this musician, his past and his wishes for the future.

Lino, when did you start to study music and decide to be a double-bass player?

“As a child I didn’t have a musical education. Around 15 years old, my brother and me started to have curiosity for music, so we started around that age. In particular, I started to play the double bass when I was 16, so my childhood was not in a musical education environment. Both of my parents aren’t musicians or had any musical formation during their education; however, both of them are big musical lovers. At home in Mexico we listen music very often, and they were always making my brother, my sister and me interested in music and dancing. So I do not come from a family of musicians but from a very musical one.”

When did you move to Europe and why?

“I moved more than three years ago, in September 2015. I came to Bern to achieve a Master in Performance at the Hochschule der Künste with David Sinclair.”

When and how did you decide to perform on period instrument?

“Since I started with the double bass I’ve had a lot of curiosity for the instrument and its history: I find it very particular and attractive. Speaking of the period instrument performance, it looked to me like the natural result of that curiosity.”

You still perform modern repertoire, and also contemporary, as our readers can see here. How does it work? Do you have two instruments or do you “simply” change the bow? Is it natural for you to switch between them?

“Yes, I still play modern music. Repertoire for modern orchestra is amazing and challenging for the bass and, of course, playing it is a beautiful challenge. The modern bass had an incredible boom during the 20th century and luckily it is still alive in these times: there are a lot of fine examples of it and maybe the music of Stefano Scodanibbio is one of the most refined.

Regarding the period instrument performance, I’ve been more and more playing chamber and orchestra music with the Viennese violone, in general the one originally thought for this beautiful instrument; the experience is really overwhelming and I try to do it more and more often. With the double bass I use a set of gut strings and I experiment as much as possible with different period bows: I love this huge variety of options!”

When did you join Theresia? How many Theresia’s projects have you been involved in and how was the experience?

“I joined Theresia for the first time in November 2015, and by now I’ve been already involved in four projects. Theresia has a very particular way to bond between the members of the projects: since the beginning you can feel like you are part of a family. The lovely thing is that every time you can experience the joy of meeting again your colleagues, the wonderful teachers and the people of the organization that make it possible.”

Do you see yourself as a student or as a professional?

“I like to see myself as a professional that will never stop learning, and that makes me a life long student.”

Do you think that Theresia is giving you the tools to improve your professional status?

“Yes, this kind of performance is an experience that is still hard to find somewhere else in general; working with the experts that conduct and guide the projects has been a vast resource of knowledge for me.”

Theresia has a very particular way to bond between the members of the projects: since the beginning you can feel like you are part of a family.

You are from Mexico and study in Europe: is it hard to manage your travels? How do you cope with flight rules?

“In general, inside Europe I travel by train for carrying my double bass; but I’ve just made two continental flights from Europe to Mexico and back with the instrument and it is very frightening. It’s always a mess to fly with a double bass but luckily my instrument has arrived always good.
Mexico is far, so sadly I don’t often go over there. But I hope with time I can start going back there more and more, hopefully also to make concerts.”

What do you like to do when you aren’t playing?

“I used to read a lot: now, I like to watch movies or just have a nice walk in the city, outside in the nature or visiting a nice museum. I also enjoy eating, so whenever I have time I like to cook, even when I have any background in the matter.”

Where do you see yourself in five years?

“Five years ago I could not imagine myself doing what I’m doing now so it’s a very hard question. Maybe it is better for me to think that I trust in music and wherever it takes me I’m going to be fine with it and my double bass.”

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What’s next: 2019 in one glance

By Emilia Campagna - December 17, 2018

2019 will be a rich year, with two big orchestral projects, a wind academy and three special projects for strings. Good for the newcomers that will join Theresia after the upcoming string auditions!
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2019 will be a rich year, with two big orchestral projects, a wind academy and three special projects for strings. Good for the newcomers that will join Theresia after the upcoming string auditions!

Next year’s activity will start in January with a String Academy: Chiara Banchini and cellist Roel Dieltiens will be the tutors; string musicians will work in Lodi from 14 to 19 January studying chamber music by Mozart, Kraus, Boccherini, Rossini and Beethoven.

The second project (28 April – 5 May) will be devoted to the symphonic repertoire: Alfredo Bernardini will conduct the orchestra performing Mozart’s Symphony n. 36 in C major “Linz” KV 425 and Haydn’s Symphony n. 28 in C major. Again, this project will take place in Lodi which, in addition to being iCons Foundations’ venue, is confirmed to be a perfect and friendly environment. With regard to the music, this first orchestral project is especially interesting because it explores the roots of Jupiter Symphony, Mozart’s masterpiece: we will go deeper into the issue in a later post, now just know that our audience will be very surprised listening to the Finale of Michael Haydn’s Symphony n. 28, which includes all four themes of the Finale of the Jupiter, written four years later in 1788, and gorgeously elaborated. A true surprise, worth the discovery.

After a month, strings will get down to work again, for a project we are looking forward to: Theresia’s string will be guests of the exciting “Trame Sonore” Festival in Mantua, where we were for a successful orchestral project two years ago. The academy will take place from 28 May to 2 June, with music by Luigi Boccherini and Francesco Galeazzi.

In July, strings will be in Genoa, working with Chiara Banchini on music by Mozart: at the end of the residency, on 7th and 8th July, Theresia’s string will perform in a double concert in Geneva.

An ambitious project will be held during the summer: August residency will be devoted to the complete Ouvertures by Joseph Martin Kraus and includes the CD recording of the program for a major world label. The recording will be a world premiere on authentic instruments collecting all the overtures composed by Joseph Martin Kraus for his operas, ballets, theatre, politics and sacred music during his lifetime, plus his major symphonic output, the monumental Chaconne from the opera Aeneas I Cartago. This large-scale program will require Theresia in its largest scale setting (44 elements) and will include, besides a reinforced string and wind orchestra, Turkish music. The two-week project will also include seminars and other learning events linked to the profile and the music of Joseph Martin Kraus and its era.

The last project of the year will be a wind academy: back to Lodi, from 8 to 12 October Alfredo Bernardini will lead the wind players performing music by Beethoven, Danzi and others.

Check our calendar to find out where and when all our concerts will be held: new dates are to be confirmed, so stay tuned and don’t miss any.

Alfredo Bernardini, Chiara Banchini and Claudio Astronio will be the conductors of 2019 productions

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What’s next? Theresia in a music capital

By Emilia Campagna - September 26, 2018

Theresia will perform Kraus and Haydn conducted by Chiara Banchini in a very music capital: Munich
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Autumn has started in the best way: our winds residency in Lodi was a success! You can give a look to some shots from the concert here. But, we can’t rest on our laurels, as the next step is actually around the corner!

The last residency of the year is going to be very special indeed: it will start on 1st October in Ossiach, a beautiful little town in Austria. Surrounded by mountains and nearby a beautiful lake, it is the ideal place for a week of job and focus on the music.

The orchestra will be conducted by Chiara Banchini, a specialist when it comes to classical repertoire performed on original instruments.

As usual, during the residency, the orchestra will study the repertoire that eventually will be performed in concert. Actually, there will be two concerts: the first one, in Ossiach itself, on 6th October. For the second one, the orchestra will move to a very music capital, Munich: Theresia will perform on 7th October in the beautiful Max Joseph Saal. It’s our debut in Germany, so we are all very excited!

The concert will start with the Ouverture from “L’Isola Disabitata” by Franz Joseph Haydn: “L’isola disabitata” (“The uninhabited island”) is an opera composed by Franz Joseph Haydn in 1779: according to music historians, it represents the composer’s attempt to abandon the Italian “opera seria” style and update his style on the model carried forward by Gluck. The opera wasn’t successful, not at its time, neither in later reprises. Yet the Overture stayed firmly in the orchestral repertoire, due to the dramatic atmosphere and the characteristics that make it like a miniature Symphony, split into four sections with alternate fast and slow movements.

Then, Theresia will perform Symphony in C major “Violino obbligato” VB 138 by Joseph Martin Kraus, soloist TYO’s first violin, the Italian Gemma Longoni. Kraus, born in 1756 and died in 1792, spent most of his professional life in Sweden, composer at the court of King Gustav III. During a Grand Tour of Europe that lasted five years, Kraus met some of the most relevant composers of his time, including Joseph Haydn, who called him “The first genius I ever met”. Kraus’ Symphony VB 138 “Violino Obbligato” is one of the best examples of Sinfonia concertante of the XVIII century, performed by the young soloists of Theresia.

Joseph Haydn’s Symphony n. 81 in G major will conclude the concert: it comes from a series of three symphonies completed in late 1784 (nos. 81, 80 and 79, presumably in that order). As with so many of his symphonies, Haydn wrote this one to provide new music for his employer, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy: it contains some intriguing harmonic and structural features.

We are waiting for you all for our German debut: you can buy the tickets here and here.

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Our places: a walk in the wood

By Emilia Campagna - June 11, 2018

Have you ever seen an orchestra in the woods? Thanks to Risonanze Festival, Theresia's musicians have had a beautiful walk among the resonant sprouts forest near Malborghetto
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Have you ever seen an orchestra in a wood? When one thinks of classical musicians, one imagines that they would play in concert halls, or maybe churches, palaces, or even gardens. But in a wood? Well, it is unusual, but in Malborghetto there is this special wood with resonant sprouts, and we couldn’t miss it.

In our very last day at Malborghetto Alberto Busettini, artistic director of “Risonanze Festival” took us to admire the wonderful woods in Val Saisera, explaining to us that the tree around us bore tonewood characteristics. Many of our musicians brought their instruments with them, so we could have the proof of that!

In the last 50 years, the trees from the Val Saisera forest have been used to make violins, guitars, flutes, and grand pianos like the celebrated Fazioli: as a matter of fact, they are resonant. Our musicians spread out among the trees and just played they instruments: “It’s like being in a concert hall”, they said.

In spite of the clouds that seemed to threaten us, it was a really pleasant walk: we took some pictures, enjoy them!

Go to the gallery

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Our places: Salone del Parlamento, Castello di Udine

By Emilia Campagna - June 6, 2018

In our new fairly-tale setting residency, a Castle is involved
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We wrote about the fairy-tale setting of our current residency: and it’s not only a matter of the enchanting woods surrounding Malborghetto, all of them full of red spruces, perfect for making violins and other instruments. A castle is involved, too.

As a matter of fact, the second concert of our residency will be in Udine, precisely in the “Salone del Parlamento” inside the Castle.

The Castle of Udine is a historical building, built upon a hill in the historical centre of the city. The hill is made of drift accumulating for centuries. However, a legend about its origin says that when Attila the Hun (also called the Scourge of God) plundered Aquileia (one of the biggest cities of the Roman Empire at that time) in the year 452, he asked his soldiers to build a hill to see the Aquileia burning. It is told that this was made by filling the helmet of each soldier with the ground.

The first official statement of the existence of a building on the hill dates back to 983: the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II donated to Rodoaldo, Patriarch of Aquileia, a “castrum”, i.e. a military building.

The present building has the form of a palace and it was built on the ruins of a fortress destroyed by an earthquake in 1511. The construction had started in 1517 and the works had lasted for 50 years.

The most important hall in the castle is the Parliament Hall (Salone del Parlamento), whose paintings are due to Giovanni da Udine, one of the pupils of Raphael. This hall was the venue of the council of the Patria del Friuli, one of the first parliaments in the world, and it was suppressed after the French occupation in 1797.

And this is where we will play! The Orchestra will perform music by Mozart and Kraus conducted by Claudio Astronio on 9th June. See you at the Castle!

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Enjoy our new video

By theresia - May 26, 2017

One orchestra, many musicians, three conductors: this is Theresia!
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One orchestra, many musicians, three conductors: this is Theresia, and if you want to know more about our activities and our philosophy now you can watch our video. Enjoy!

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Sorpresa, c’è un musicista in giardino!

By Emilia Campagna - August 18, 2016

Theresia inaugura una nuova collaborazione con il Festival triestino Wunderkammer e porta in Trentino Alto-Adige i concerti di Haus und Garten Musik
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Immaginate un pomeriggio di tarda estate: un giardino verdeggiante, la luce spiovente che fa capolino tra le foglie, una schiera di sedie e, in mezzo a un prato, musicisti… Nel Settecento era una prassi consueta, come raccontano tanti dipinti. Oggi è più raro, ed è soprattutto molto meno consueto che ad aprire le porte dei propri giardini per ospitare pubblico e musicisti siano dei privati cittadini.

concerto-in-giardino

Ora Theresia inaugura una nuova iniziativa, in collaborazione con il Festival Wunderkammer (Trieste), e porta per la prima volta in regione i concerti della rassegna Garten Musik.

Si tratta di concerti unici in giardini speciali di case private che vi daranno una possibilità unica per entrare in contatto diretto con i musicisti: dal 22 agosto all’11 settembre un calendario di 9 concerti, con 35 musicisti coinvolti, e 9 spazi all’aperto di altrettante case private in 8 città tra Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige e Slovenia.

Theresia organizzerà due concerti, il primo a Bolzano il 22 Agosto con l’ensemble di ottoni Slide & Friends, il secondo al Lago di Cei il 27 Agosto con il quintetto di fiati Austro Ensemble: e nel caso di Austro Ensemble la sodisfazione è doppia, visto che il gruppo è un autentico spin off di Theresia: è formato interamente da componenti dell’orchestra, il clarinettista Juan Jo Molero, la flautista Ida Febbraio, il cornista Alessandro Orlando, il fagottista Stefano Sopranzi e l’oboista Antonello Cola. Vi daremo maggiori informazioni sull’ensemble e sul programma del concerto in un prossimo post.

Austro Ensemble

E l’indirizzo esatto dei concerti? Questa è la particolarità dell’iniziativa: sul programma online sono indicati data e ora, il musicista o la formazione, il programma e la città mentre il dettaglio con l’indicazione dell’indirizzo e del “giardino” verranno forniti un paio di giorni prima dell’evento solo a chi si è prenotato attraverso l’invio dell’invito formale via mail o con comunicazione telefonica e ritiro dell’invito.

[button url=”mailto:info@tybo.org” new_tab=”false” size=”large” style=”solid” color=”true” light=”false”]PRENOTA IL TUO POSTO![/button]

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With Theresia, with passion

By Emilia Campagna - April 4, 2016

Many aspiring to access to the workshop of Theresia: aftermath the subscription deadline, have a look at some numbers
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[highlighted_p boxed=”false” center=”false”]translation by Charlotte Michi[/highlighted_p]

122 subscribers willing to take part to the workshop, only 35 places available: these are the numbers the day after the deadline for submitting to the auditions & workshops that Theresia will organize in Venice from the 4th to the 7th of May. There is hunger for orchestra, there is hunger for Theresia. Of course we expected a higher number of registrations compared to the number of places available, but those figures have surprised us – positively.

The candidates come from 30 different countries: Italy ahead (32 subscribers), followed by Spain (18), France (16), Poland (11) and United Kingdom (5); and then a series of mostly non-European nationalities: we received subscriptions from Brazilian musicians, Canadians, Chileans, Taiwanese, Indonesians and Australians! Finally, the average age is 24 years (the subscriptions where open to musicians younger than 28 years old).

Now it’s up to the three conductors – Claudio Astronio, Chiara Banchini and Alfredo Bernardini – and to the artistic director Mario Martinoli to identify, according to the curriculum and the video received, the 35 musicians that will take part to the stage: there they will prove themselves in the orchestral and chamber workshops and then be selected for the next productions of Theresia Youth Baroque Orchestra.

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Con Theresia, appassionatamente

By Emilia Campagna - April 4, 2016

Molti gli aspiranti ad accedere al workshop di Theresia: all'indomani della scadenza delle iscrizioni, vi diamo qualche numero
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122 iscritti al workshop su 35 posti disponibili: questi i numeri il giorno dopo la deadline delle iscrizioni per partecipare allo stage con audizioni che Theresia organizza a Venezia dal 4 al 7 maggio. C’è fame di orchestra, c’è fame di Theresia. Certo, ci aspettavamo un numero di iscrizioni superiore ai posti disponibili, ma queste cifre ci hanno colto – molto positivamente – di sorpresa.

I candidati provengono da 30 paesi diversi: in testa l’Italia (32 iscritti), seguita da Spagna (18), Francia (16), Polonia (11) e Inghilterra (5); e poi una sfilza di nazionalità in maggioranza extraeuropee: sono arrivate iscrizioni di musicisti brasiliani, canadesi, cileni, taiwanesi, indonesiani e australiani! Infine, l’età media è di 24 anni (le iscrizioni erano riservate a minori di 28 anni).

Ora spetta ai tre direttori – Claudio Astronio, Chiara Banchini e Alfredo Bernardini – e al direttore artistico Mario Martinoli individuare, sulla base dei curriculum e del video inviato, i 35 musicisti che parteciperanno allo stage: lì potranno dimostrare quanto valgono nei workshop orchestrali e cameristici ed essere in seguito selezionati per le prossime produzioni di Theresia Youth Baroque Orchestra.

thank you - auditions 2016

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What a memorable day!

By theresia - May 13, 2015

Every concert hall is special in its own way: but some places are more special, and full of meanings and extraordinary stories.
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Every concert hall is special in its own way: but some places are more special, and full of meanings and extraordinary stories. Likeways, some days are more remarkable and memorable too: 10th May was one of these days, in which the concert venue is something more than a simple concert hall.

First of all, there wasn’t just one concert in a day! We performed twice in the same day, and in two different (and distant, indeed) places. In the morning, we performend in the Cappella Paolina of Palazzo del Quirinale: we told you something of this important palace in a previous post . Well, the emotion of entering the palace was really strong, both Saturday, for the rehearsal, both Sunday for the concert: here you are some photos of backstage and concert.

The concert was live broadcasted on Rai Radio3: stay tuned for a podcast of the concert!

After the concert a coach was waiting for us and carried us to L’Aquila, a town located 100 km from Rome: the auditorium we performed in (the Auditorium del Parco, by famous architect Renzo Piano) is really special, in a different way from the Quirinale Palace. Quirinale is a venue of politic power (it is the residence of President of Republic), the Auditorium is a concert hall; the first is several centuries old, the second was built three years ago. Finally, the first is a symbol of power, the second is the gift of a city to another in a time of great difficulty. Find more in our post about L’Aquila.

And now enjoy L’Aquila photo gallery too!

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