About the Choir 

  Orfeón San Juan Bautista, a professional 34 mixed-voice choral ensemble, began its cultural labor in August of 2001. Its musical directors are Guarionex Morales-Matos, the choir's founder, and Maestro Daniel Alejandro Tapia-Santiago, a graduate from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music's Master in Choral Conducting programs. Orfeón San Juan Bautista organizes its cultural venues as part of its yearly artistic seasons, which begin in August and end in June. Every season presents a large number of events that include several public and private concerts, educational conferences and digital audio recordings. The ensemble's diverse repertoire spans the sacred and secular compositions of the great European choral traditions, as well as Latin American traditional and folkloric music.

  Orfeón San Juan Bautista has produced nine compact disc recordings: Puerto Rico a capella (2002), a beautiful selection of Puerto Rican popular and folkloric music; Yale Institute of Sacred Music: Orfeón San Juan Bautista (2002), a compilation of sacred music from different historical periods; Reverencia (2004), dedicated to the sacred works of contemporary Puerto Rican composers; El Orfeón (2005), a chronological documentary piece that narrates the ensemble's first three seasons; Pura Navidad (2005), in collaboration with Alpha Voices, a lovely homage to Spanish and Puerto Rican traditional Christmas music; and Antología: Quinto Aniversario 2001-2006, an anthology recording for the celebration of the ensemble's Fifth Anniversary. In addition, Orfeón San Juan Bautista recorded the first professional compact disc rendering of Himno al Alma Mater, the official anthem of the University of Puerto Rico, a project commissioned by the University of Puerto Rico Alumni Association. In 2007 the ensemble released Pentagrama en blanco y negro: las voces de Jack Délano (1914-1997), which documents the entire works for chamber choir of this multifaceted Puerto Rican artist of Ukrainian origin. Orfeón San Juan Bautista's most recent CD recording is Estampas criollas (2008), which includes the choral works of Puerto Rican composer and guitarist Ernesto Cordero (b.1946), as conducted by maestro Guillermo Figueroa. The CD also features tenor soloist Joel Prieto in his debut recording, the first prize winner of the 2008 edition of the prestigious Operalia competition founded by Plácido Domingo.

  In January, 2004 Orfeón San Juan Bautista presented the radio series Mayormente a capella, a co-production with Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico, the state university radio station. The series features a varied program that focuses on Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and modern choral music, as well as vocal jazz and folkloric vocal traditions. The series is transmitted weekly by Cadena Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico station, 89.7 FM in San Juan and 88.3 FM in Mayagüez (www.radiouniversidad.pr).

  Amongst the ensemble's most important performances are: Meditaciones Marianas, sponsored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (2002); the Yale University Concert Tour (2002); the musical offering to His Holiness Tensin Gyatso, the XIV th Dalai Lama of Tibet (Universal Responsibility conference, San Juan Puerto Rico, 2004); Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Requiem Mass, alongside the Bergisches Musikschule Kammerorchestra (third edition of the Settimana di Musica Sacra dal Mondo festival, Florence, Italy, 2005); Música sacra de las tres Américas in the Santo Stefano al Ponte Vecchio church (Florence, Italy, 2005); the Ohio Sate University-Dayton University-Sinclair College Concert Tour (Ohio, U.S.A., 2005); Mosaic: the Colors of Choral Music tour to Miami, Florida, U.S.A. (2007); and the New York City Concert Tour (2008), which featured a concert at the majestic St. Patrick's Cathedral.

  Orfeón San Juan Bautista continuously presents world premieres, which include, Abel Di Marco's (b. 1931) Adoramus te, Christe (2004); Robert Manthey's (b. 1976) Prayer in Time of War (Florence, 2005); Estampas criollas, work commissioned by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to famed composer and guitarist Ernesto Cordero (b. 1946) for its 50 th Anniversary, and premiered alongside the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (2005); Abel Di Marco's (b. 1931) Ostende nobis Domine (2006); and Stabat Mater, work commissioned by GD & E Orfeón San Juan Bautista Corporation to Italian composer Fabio Fresi (b. 1979) and premiered in the Great Atrium of the Puerto Rico Art Museum (2006). In 2008 the choir premieres yet another Stabat Mater composed by Abel Di Marco (b.1931) for mixed choir, soloists and string orchestra. That same year it performed in New York City Milonga sin palabras, work commissioned by Orfeón San Juan Bautista to maestro Ernesto Cordero (b.1946). On the same tour, the choir premiered El canto de la lluvia by Puerto Rican composer Francis Thomas Rodríguez (b.1982).

  In February, 2006 Orfeón San Juan Bautista began its ambitious children's program: the Orfeón San Juan Bautista Choral Academy. This school combines a solid educational and disciplinary structure, with the utmost respect for the child's sensibility and self-esteem. The curriculum is designed so that participating students learn about Puerto Rican culture and music, and also receive a solid formation in music theory, solfège, vocal technique, and music appreciation. The program is free of cost for all participants.

  In March, 2006 GD & E Orfeón San Juan Bautista Corporation in collaboration with University of Puerto Rico Alumni Association created and awarded the Abel Di Marco Scholarship, a monetary fund destined for the purchase of musical instruments for young talented low-income music students.