The Reina Sofía School Orchestra is the orchestra of the Reina Sofía School of Music, a private music school in Madrid, Spain, that develops young talent from all over the world. Every year, some of the best young musicians from more than 35 countries study there with a world-class faculty.
Reina Sofía School Orchestra in New York City
Carnegie Hall
Spain’s Reina Sofía School Orchestra makes its US and Carnegie Hall debut including members of the Colombian Youth Philharmonic, under the baton of Colombian Austrian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, featuring French violin soloist Renaud Capuçon. The program is a journey to the new world starting with Albéniz’s “El Puerto” from his masterpiece “Iberia, Book 1,” continuing with Barber’s Violin Concerto composed on both sides of the Atlantic, and ending with Dvořák’s iconic Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” which influenced a lot of grand American music. It’s in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 7pm. From $30. 🇪🇸
The Artists
Andrés Orozco-Estrada is an international conductor from Medellín, Colombia who is based in Vienna Austria. In 2026, he will be the Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Orozco-Estrada is currently the General Music Director of the City of Cologne and Gürzenich Kapellmeister. He is also Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai, in Turin, Italy. orozco-estrada.com
Renaud Capuçon is an international French violinist and conductor who is a soloist with the world’s great orchestras, and Artistic Director of several European classical music festivals.
The Program
The Program is all about great journeys from Europe to the Americas and beyond.
“El Puerto” (The Port) is a zapateado from Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz’s masterpiece Iberia (1905-1909). The piece was inspired by El Puerto de Santa María, the port of Cadíz, Andalusia, Spain where “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” on his first expedition searching for a shorter way to the Orient.
American composer Samuel Barber started working on his Violin Concerto in Switzerland in 1939. The start of World War II forced him to leave, and he finished the Concerto back home in Pennsylvania. So this piece was composed on both sides of the Atlantic at a very tumultuous time in world history, that is reverberating into the present. If you listen closely, you can feel the contrast between the violence of the war in Europe, and the peace of the Pennsylvania woodlands. May we find ourselves in a similar peace.
Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1893. It is one of the world’s most popular symphonies. Dvořák said he was inspired by Native American music and African American spirituals. He believed, rightly so, that these foundations would become the future of American music. The Symphony’s iconic musical half-step opening of the fourth part, Allegro con fuoco, inspired John Williams’ equally iconic “Theme from Jaws.” You can also hear elements of “From the New World” in Williams’ various “Star Wars” compositions. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, took a recording with him on the Apollo 11 mission.
We live in interesting times, but after listening to these pieces, I feel really calm and good. Don’t miss this concert because it will make you feel good too.
Reina Sofía School Orchestra
