- From September 16th to 25th, with concerts taking place in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
- Today, the Teatro Leal de La Laguna will be home to opening concert ‘Kilar – Glass – Navarro’, as performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra.
- Brad Fiedel, Vince DiCola, Johnny Klimek and Juno Reactor, composers of ‘Terminator’, ‘Transformers’ and ‘Matrix’, will be among the guests at this 16th edition of the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife.
- Composer Wendy Carlos and sound engineer Dennis Sands will receive the FIMUCITÉ – Antón García Abril award in recognition of their work.
The 16th edition of the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife (FIMUCITÉ), the oldest Festival of its kind in Europe, has arrived. A great celebration of soundtracks which brings the best composers and audiovisual music industry professionals to the Canary Islands to offer an eagerly awaited programme of concerts and parallel activities, which this year will figure such luminaries as Brad Fiedel, Vince DiCola, Johnny Klimek, Juno Reactor, Marcin Przybylowicz, P. T. Adamczyk, Josué Vergara or Arnau Bataller, to name but a few. An edition drenched in cyberpunk aesthetic, as defined by the subgenre, borne of noir novels, and molded by authors such as William Gibson or Bruce Sterling in the 80s, which questions the possibilty of dystopian futures, where technology and robotics rule the world.
The Teatro Leal de La Laguna will, today at 8pm, offer opening concert 'Kilar – Glass - Navarro', a one-off, pioneering event, performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia as part of their 'Kilar 90' world tour, in main collaboration with record label PWM Edition. This is the first time that a film music festival has welcomed a non-resident international orchestra, a pioneering experience that is possible thanks to the solid relation between FIMUCITÉ and the Krakow FMF. Conducted by Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak, this prestigious chamber orchestra will offer a programme that includes compositions by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar, who scored 'Bram Stoker's Dracula', on the occasion of his 90th birthday, and American Philip Glass, three-time Oscar nominee, for 'Notes from a Scandal', 'The Hours' and 'Kundun'. Also, in their first visit to the Canaries, the Sinfonietta has wished to include creations by renowned composer and conductor Diego Navarro, the director of Fimucité and the most representative film music creator in the archipielago. 'Kilar - Glass - Navarro' is a project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of teh Republic of Poland and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in co-production with FIMUCITÉ.
FIMUCITÉ – Antón García Abril awards for Wendy Carlos and Dennis Sands
In this sixteenth edition, the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife has wanted to recognise the careers and commitment to audiovisual music of electronic musical composer and performer Wendy Carlos and sound engineerr Dennis Sands, who will both recieve the FIMUCITÉ – Antón García Abril award.
Wendy Carlos gave us the soundtracks for 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971) or 'The Shining' (1980), both directed by Stantey Kubrick, but, in FIMUCITÉ, the score of hers that will be performed is that of 'Tron' (1982), by Steven Lisberger. Elsewhere, Dennis Sands has worked on over 400 feature films since 1979 and is a four-time Oscar nominee, for his work on 'Forrest Gump', 'Contact', 'Cast Away' and 'Polar Express'. As well as his nominated work, other legendary titles in his filmography include "Back To the Future" or "Avengers". The programme of the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy will include two masterclasses by Dennis Sands, which will take place on Saturday 24th of September at the IACtec del Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Tenerife.
'Ridley Scott: Like Tears In Rain', with The Pop Culture Band
The Pop Culture Band, FIMUCITÉ's resident band since 2014, whose performances are always one of the big draws of the festival, will, on Saturday the 17th of September, at Teatro Guimerá, premiere the concert 'Ridley Scott: Like Tears In Rain', which will take us through pieces that have featured in the films of one of the most influential British filmmakers ever, director of cyberpunk classic 'Blade Runner', which celebrates the 40th anniversary of its release this year. This musical treat will begin at 8:00pm.
The repertoire will include pieces such as the ethereal 'Love Theme' and 'One More Kiss, Dear' by Vangelis from 'Blade Runner'; 'Hold On, I'm Comin', by Sam & Dave, from 'American Gangster'; 'Something Else' by Eddie Cochran, included in the soundtrack to 'White Squall'; or 'Suspicious Minds', by Elvis Presley, which can be heard in 'Black Hawk Down'.
As is now common in their evolution, this year, the la Pop Culture Band will incorporate new members in their team of artists, such as singer Jadel, alongside Héctor Quintero, Patricio González, Zuleyma Medina, Juan de Araoz and Marianne Robiou, accompanied by musicians Nuria Herrero, Francis Díaz, Aborá Cel, David González, Daniel Lukacs, Javi Guerrero, Cristo Delgado, Elio Bignotte, Luis Cuan and Gonzalo de Araoz.
'Tangos de Cine'
On Sunday, the 18th of September, FIMUCITÉ's concert programme will return to La Laguna with a unique offering that the audience will be able to enjoy in the venue without equal that is the ex Convento de Santo Domingo, a place of cultural interest located in the city of Patrimonio de la Humanidad. The recital will be given by duo Karolina Mikołajczyk and Iwo Jedynecki (violín and classical accordion), one of the most vibrant and innovative chamber pairings of the present day.
Revered by artists such as Maxim Vengerov and Krzysztof Penderecki, they have won several Grand Prix and first places in international music contests, performing, to name but three, at New York's Carnegie Hall, Guangzhou Opera House and Warsaw Philarmonic, where their debut concert was sold out.
With 'Tangos De Cine', they will offer a journey through different eras of Hollywood cinema, from the 40s to the present, via suites garnished with classic tangos from the silver screen, such as 'Por una cabeza', by Carlos Gardel, from the soundtrack to 'Scent of a Woman', or the compositions by Astor Piazzolla 'I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)', from thriller 'Frantic', and 'Punta Del Este' from sci-fi classic 'Twelve Monkeys'.
The tickets for this musical date, which were free, were all taken very quickly after being released.
Tickets on sale now for the 'Cyberpunk Remastered' symphonic concerts
Tickets are now on sale for both symphonic concerts that will take place at Auditorio de Tenerife on the 23rd and 24th of September. Cyberpunk, a science fiction subgenre borne from the writings of authors such as William Gibson or Bruce Sterling in the 1980s, has inspired the repertoire of soundtracks that will be performed in this year's FIMUCITÉ gala symphonic concerts, under the direction of Diego Navarro. The Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Tenerife Film Choir will perform the music from key cyberpunk sagas such as 'Terminator', in the presence of its composer, American Brad Fiedel, or 'Matrix', with the british band Juno Reactor ('Matrix Reloaded') and Johnny Klimek, co-author with Tom Tykwer of the score from the latest entry in the franchise, 'Matrix Resurrections'. The american composer Vince DiCola ('Transformers: The Movie'), and the poles Marcin Przybylowicz and P.T. Adamczyk ('Cyberpunk 2077') will also participate in both concerts. The music from other indispensable titles, such as 'Robocop', composed by Basil Poledouris, or 'Tron', from composer Wendy Carlos, a sci-fi classic that celebrates its 40th anniversary on the 9th of July, will also be enjoyed.
Both thematic concerts will feature numerous World Premieres, are entitled 'Cyberpunk Remastered (Vol. 1) – Manga / Anime' and 'Cyberpunk Remastered (Vol. 2) – Soul of the Machine', respectively, and will be comprised of a common part, including pieces from 'Terminator', 'Transformers', 'Total Recall', 'Matrix', 'Blade Runner' and videogame 'Cyberpunk 2077', and another part, the first in both cases, that will be exclusive to each programme. Thus, the concert programmed for the 23rd of September at 7:30pm, dedicated to manga and anime, will include the soundtracks of some of the most celebrated big screen manga-anime adaptations, such as 'Akira' by Katsuhiro Otomo or dyptich 'Ghost in the Shell' by filmmaker Mamoru Oshii, with an unforgettable score by Kenji Kawai, as well as live action adaptations of great renown like 'Alita: Battle Angel', a James Cameron production directed by Robert Rodríguez, with a score by Tom Holkenborg.
The second cyberpunk concert, 'Soul of the Machine', will feature exclusive performances of the soundtracks to emblematic films in which robotics play a pivotal and revolutonary role, from the seminal 'Metrópolis' by Fritz Lang and both 'Tron' movies with scores by Wendy Carlos and Daft Punk, respectively, to 'Pacific Rim' by Guillermo del Toro, with an energetic soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi, and 'Robocop', Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece, sensationally scored by Basil Poledouris. These concerts will begin at 7pm.
Among the onstage artists will be guitarist Amir John Haddad El Amir (official touring guitarist for Hans Zimmer), drummer Greg Ellis, Polish soloist Olga Jankowska (original singer of 'Never Fade Away' from the 'Cyberpunk 2077' OST) and Canarian singer Jadel, among others.
The concert on the 23rd September, as is now tradition, will also see the ceremony for the 5th Spanish Audiovisual Music Awards, which this year go to: Arnau Bataller, for 'Mediterráneo' (Best Original Score for Fictional Feature Film), Josué Vergara, for 'Out of the blue' (Best Original Documentary Score), Iván Palomares, for 'La cocinera de Castamar' (Best Original Score for a Series), Zacarías M. de la Riva, for 'Mango, Mediterranean Dream' (Best Original Score for Advertising) and Gerard Pastor, for 'Discovery O Park, The Turtle Game'. During the ceremony, a suite dedicated to the winning works will be played.
Tickets, available for 30 to 40 euros, can be purchased at the Auditorio de Tenerife website, at the box office, or by calling 902 317 327. FIMUCITÉ offers a package for those who wish to enjoy both concerts, with a 10 euro discount.
'Big Screen Memories'
On Sunday September 25th, the Festival's closing day, the Fimucité Youth Orchestra, made up of students at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias, will offer, in the Teatro Guimerá de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the concert 'Big Screen Memories'. Conducted by José Antonio Cubas, the Youth Orchestra will play much loved classics in film music.
School Concerts
Also, on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of September, the Espacio R del Centro de Arte La Recova, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, will host two matinee concerts for school children, in which composer Vince DiCola, author of soundtracks such as 'Rocky IV' or 'Transformers: The Movie', will offer the pupils a musical masterclass about electronic composition for animation or videogame. Canarian composer Sara López will present and moderate.
FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy
As part of the educational part of the Festival, a new edition of FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy will take place between Monday, September 19th and Saturday, September 24t at the IACtec del Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Tenerife, located in Las Mantecas (La Laguna).
The incredible roster of speakers and participants includes composers as influential as Brad Fiedel, creator of the scores for 'The Terminator' and 'The Terminator 2'; Vince DiCola, composer of 'Transformers: The Movie', 'Staying Alive' or 'Rocky IV'; or Marcin Przybilowicz and P.T. Adamczyk, responsible for the music of hit videogame 'Cyberpunk 2077'. Ben Watkins (Juno Reactor), responsible for several tracks in the 'Matrix' saga, alongside drummer Greg Ellis and guitarrist Amir John Haddad El Amir; soloist Olga Jankowska, not forgetting sound engineer Dennis Sands, orchestrator and arranger Leigh Phillips and producer Peter Hackman, who will also take part in this year's edition of Academia Fimucité, which will focus largely on Spanish composers. Thus, creators such as Iván Palomares, Arnau Bataller, Josué Vergara, Gerard Pastor, Ramón García i Soler and Xavier Capellas will take part in round table 'The Influence of New Technologies in Competitive Development', moderated by film music specialist Conrado Xalabarder.
Academia Fimucité, coordinated by Pedro J. Mérida, is one of the most highly-anticipated parallel activities of the Festival, which takes place every year as part of the Festival's commitment to training in this field, and that offers a unique opportunity to students and musical professionals interested in creating music for audiovisual media.
Those in attendance, who can find the registration form on the Festival's website (www.fimucite.com), will receive a diploma certifiying their participation. The sessions have a limited capacity and will take place from Monday to Thursday from 5 to 7pm, on Friday, from 11am to 1pm and from 4:30pm to 6pm; and Saturday will see two classes (from 10:30am to 12.pm and 1:30on to 3:30pm).
FIMUCINEMA
Espacio La Granja will, once again, welcome the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife (FIMUCITÉ), specifically, its competition section, Fimucinema, where original music composed expressly for feature length fictional films, documentaries and short films is awarded. In this new edition, a new category has been incorporated to recognise original music composed for videogames. Also, for the first time in its history, the Fimucinema award will be monetary. All is set for Sunday, September 25th at 7pm, when the awaited announcement of the winners will take place, and there will be a chance to watch a selection of the nominated shorts.
FIMUCITÉ is sponsored by Cabildo de Tenerife, Gobierno de Canarias, Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ayuntamiento de San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife y Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and Teleférico del Teide, with the support of Fundación Disa, Emmasa, Fundación SGAE, Fundación "la Caixa" via CaixaBank, and the collaboration of Domingo Alonso Group and AUDI as the official Festival car.