Running out of superlatives

I am rapidly running out of superlatives to describe performances by the Banda de la Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro.

They seem to get better and better each time we listen to them. Last night’s performance was exceptional.

Perhaps because we were familiar with the music, we enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera piece best. That is being picky though because in truth each piece was a delight.

One of the highlights we should mention was the performance by the young soloist María Díaz Esquiva. If you closed your eyes and just listened to her, you would not believe that it was an eleven year old child playing.

In her own words, Maria explains that she was brought up in a house with a musical atmosphere. She remembers listening to the song “Maria” from West Side Story many times. Possibly the song was the inspiration for her name.

Maria started learning music in the local school which is part of the Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro. She wanted to play the big drum like her grandfather or play the clarinet but was advised to play the violoncello. When she was six years old, Maria first took up the clarinet and was instructed by her her first professor, D. José Vicente Diaz Alcaina.Maria had a good ear for music and learnt her first pieces on the clarinet well.

A few months after she’d started on the clarinet, Maria took piano lessons with Dña. Victoria Sáez at the Coservatorio Professional de Música de Almoradí.

In 2008, Maria joined the Banda de la Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro playing the clarinet - she was the youngest member of the band.

Maria won first prize in the Contest for Santa Cecilia in 2007 and was selected to represent the music school in the local contest for interpretation 2009. Maria says that her best prize is being able to play in the clarinet group with her friends in the band.

It continues to amaze us that a small town like Bigastro produces such prodigious talent. We offer our thanks to Maria and to all the members of the band for such a wonderful evening.