Rafael Sánchez-Araña

Chief Conductor of Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra

Musical Director of the Canary Islands Zarzuela Season

Upcoming events

MAY 21, 23 y 25, 2024

Roberto Devereux

Gaetano Donizetti

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Teatro Pérez Galdós

Ópera de Las Palmas

Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria
Coro del Festival de Ópera

Roberto Devereux: Iván Ayón Rivas
Elisabetta: Yolanda Auyanet
Sara: Paola Gardina
Duque de Nottingham: Youngjun Park
Cecil: Gabriel Álvarez
Gualtiero Raleigh: Max Hochmuth
Un Paje/Familiar de Nottingham: Julián Padilla

Director: Rafael Sánchez-Araña

Directora de coro: Olga Santana

Director de escena: Bruno Berger-Gorski

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JUN 1, 2024

Carmina Burana

Carl Orff

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Auditorio Alfredo Kraus

Orquesta y Coro de la Sinfónica de Las Palmas

XXV Aniversario Orquesta Sinfónica de Las Palmas

Director: Rafael Sánchez-Araña

Directora de coro: Maite Robaina

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Bio

He is currently the principal conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Las Palmas and musical director of the Canary Islands Zarzuela Season.

Between 2017 and 2023 he was the assistant conductor to the principal conductor of the OFGC, conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Gran Canaria and artistic coordinator of the Schoolchildren’s Season of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gran Canaria.

He obtained the Superior Diploma in Violin (Castilla y León 2007) and the Superior Diploma in Choir Conducting (Canary Islands 2012). Between 2012 and 2017 he studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold under the professorship of Maestro Karl Heinz Bloemeke and Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden under the professorship of Maestro Georg Christoph Sandmann, where he obtainned a master’s degree in conducting.

Between 2012 and 2015 he published five musical publications with the Mercurio Editorial label, including three volumes of the OEFBB, of which he was the founder, as well as other works to rescue the historical-musical heritage of the Canary Islands.

XII New Year's Concert in Las Palmas

December 31, 2023

Sánchez Araña managed to extract a unique sound from the orchestra, emphasizing with personality and meticulousness the details of such diverse scores. The maestro takes care of and gives importance to the solo interventions of the orchestra, such as the trumpet in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Waltz No. 2. Sánchez Araña’s orchestra doesn’t sound routine even in the most well-known fragments; the maestro infuses strength, elegance, and robustness. Refined in many aspects, he ensures that the writing of each instrument resonates throughout every corner of the hall, allowing the melodies to glide effortlessly and creating a more impactful connection with the audience.

Ópera World

«La del manojo de rosas» in Las Palmas

September 24, 2023

Rafael Sánchez Araña skillfully recreated all these styles with transparency, balance, and precision, ensuring that the percussion, for example, did not overpower the orchestral atmosphere. Sánchez Araña was vibrant in the more rhythmic musical numbers, while also being lyrical and intimate in romances and duets. The leitmotiv, stemming from the protagonist’s romance, permeated the entire work. The conductor maintained ideal tempos, allowing the soloists to expand comfortably, despite the challenge of harmonizing their voices with the orchestra’s melody. An admirable and meticulous interpretation of Pablo Sorozábal’s score.

Ópera World

A Requiem with prestige at first local hearing

April 07, 2022

Rafael Sánchez Araña offered us an honest and meticulously planned interpretation, aiming for clarity in the direction of the voices.

Ritmo.es

A necessary 'Don Pasquale' in the Pérez Galdós

March 25, 2022

The *Gran Canarian conductor Rafael Sánchez-Araña* not only maintained the tension of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra throughout without losing the necessary liveliness in Italian opera buffa, but he also achieved a seamless communion with the singers. His direction of the melancholic trumpet solo in the introduction of “Povero Ernesto” was magnificent.

ÓperaActual

A 'Luisa Fernanda' that marks a change in trend

October 18, 2021

Rafael Sánchez-Araña skillfully extracted from the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra (OFGC) the energy that, without abrupt changes, managed to connect with the most elegiac moments of the score.

ÓperaActual