{"id":119622,"date":"2025-11-20T16:09:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=119622"},"modified":"2025-11-21T07:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T12:00:02","slug":"interview-jubilate-singers-present-premiere-freddy-vilches-abya-yala-choral-suite-celebration-indigenous-cultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/11\/20\/interview-jubilate-singers-present-premiere-freddy-vilches-abya-yala-choral-suite-celebration-indigenous-cultures\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Jubilate Singers Present The Premiere Of Freddy Vilches\u2019 Abya Yala Choral Suite, A Celebration Of Indigenous Cultures"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_119625\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119625\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-119625\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-11-20T160417.763.jpg\" alt=\"L: Composer Freddy Vilches (Photo courtesy of the artist); R: Jubilate Singers of Toronto conductor Isabel Bernaus\u00a0(Photo: Marilyn Voysey)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-11-20T160417.763.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-11-20T160417.763-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-11-20T160417.763-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-11-20T160417.763-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-119625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L: Composer Freddy Vilches (Photo courtesy of the artist); R: Jubilate Singers of Toronto conductor Isabel Bernaus\u00a0(Photo: Marilyn Voysey)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Jubilate Singers present a program titled Abya Yala: Voices of Latin America, featuring the Canadian premiere of the title work, Abya Yala, by composer Freddy Vilches. Abya Yala means Continent of Life, or Land in Full Maturity, and the term is used by many Indigenous people to denote the continents of North and South America together.<\/p>\n<p>The concert, supported by the Consulate General of Chile in Toronto, will also feature works by Ariel Ram\u00edrez (the Argentinian favourite \u201cAlfonsina y el mar\u201d), <strong>Silvio Ridriguez<\/strong>, <strong>Inti Illimani<\/strong>, and other composers from across Latin America, along with Canadian Indigenous composer <strong>Sherryl Sewepagaham<\/strong> (Cree-Dene from Little Red River Cree Nation) and Canadian-Chilean composer <strong>Nano Valverde<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>LV spoke to Freddy Vilches about the unique composition.<\/p>\n<p>The Lewis &amp; Clark Orchestra string section performs Suite Sudamericana by Freddy Vilches, Lance Inouye, conductor, in 2021:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xJHIF1Gbrf0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Freddy Vilches and Abya Yala<\/h2>\n<p>Composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and educator Freddy Vilches is a native of Santiago, Chile. With roots in both Indigenous and European culture, he is based in Portland, Oregon, where he is a Professor of Hispanic Studies, Section Head Hispanic Studies, at Lewis and Clark College. Freddy holds a PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Oregon, specializing in Latin American Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries. His work specializes in Latin American language, literature, and music. As a composer, his music, both symphonic and choral music, has been performed across the United States, and in Bolivia and Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>Abya Yala is the term used by many Indigenous groups to denote the continents of North and South America. Abya Yala is also a choral work choral suite composed by Freddy Vilches Meneses in five movements, each of which use the text of poets in various languages from North and South America.<\/p>\n<p>They include Mapudungun, Quechua, Aymara, Maya K&#8217;iche&#8217;, and Nahuatl. Vilches sets the texts to music via a collaborative process that considers the poets and their various cultures.<\/p>\n<p>Resonance Ensemble, commissioners of the Suite, perform the premiere of Abya Yala in 2022:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eWHCPwNgfdM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Freddy Vilches: The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>The Abya Yala Choral Suite, which premiered in 2022, is the result of a years of work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s been many years,\u201d Vilches says. \u201cFor the longest time I&#8217;ve been doing research on the relationship between poetry and music in the song genre,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>After reading a great deal of material, he was inspired to add music to the mix. \u201cAt some point I thought it would be great to put together all these different languages from these different communities into a choral suite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He wanted the piece to represent the cultures of a range of Indigenous peoples from North, Central, and South America. \u201c[I wanted to] vindicate these languages and give them a new platform,\u201d he says, noting they are often marginalized. \u201cNot part of Western traditions,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis suite incorporates the poetry of five different communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He put them together, essentially, from south to north.<\/p>\n<p>The first movement uses the Mapudungun language, spoken by the Mapuche people native to central and southern Chile, along with parts of Chile. The Mapuche poet\u2019s words are set to music that uses traditional instruments such as the trutruca, the pifilka, the trompe, the kultr\u00fan, and the cascahuillas, revolving around themes of community and harmony.<\/p>\n<p>From the Mapudungun poem \u201cTvfaci mapu mew mogeley wagvlen\u201d by <strong>Elicura Chihuailaf N.<\/strong> (Winner of the National Prize for Poetry in 2014, and the National Prize for Literature win 2020), translated to English by Freddy Vilches:<\/p>\n<p><em>In this soil<\/em><br \/>\n<em>inhabit the stars<\/em><br \/>\n<em>In this sky sings<\/em><br \/>\n<em>the imagination water<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Beyond the clouds<\/em><br \/>\n<em>That surge from<\/em><br \/>\n<em>These waters<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And these soils<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Our ancestors<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Dream of us<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Their spirit \u2014 they say \u2014 is the full moon<\/em><br \/>\n<em>The silence, their beating heart.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The second movement, written in Aymara by poet <strong>Estela Gamero<\/strong>, incorporates traditional instruments from the Andes region, such as the charango, quena flute, and zampo\u00f1as. It\u2019s the language of the Aymara people of southern Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and Argentina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s the region where my father comes from,\u201d Freddy notes.<\/p>\n<p>The third movement, set to a poem by <strong>Julieta Zurita<\/strong> in the Quechua language, features instruments from the Andean region, such as the tarkas and bombo. The music is lively and festive, and the text includes a call to end all violence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we say Quechua, there are different varieties of Quechua,\u201d Vilches says. \u201cIt&#8217;s hard to describe if it&#8217;s Peruvian or Bolivian or Ecuadorian,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe better approach is to think of these linguisitc communities.&#8221; Julieta Zurita is from Bolivia.<\/p>\n<p>Maya K&#8217;iche&#8217; is the language of the fourth movement, set to the words of K&#8217;iche&#8217; poet <strong>Rosa Chavez <\/strong>that celebrate the culture. It uses drums, shakers, shells, and clay flutes, traditional instruments from Mesoamerica, a region that includes present day central and southern Mexico, along with Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, western Honduras, and the Greater Nicoya region of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are several languages within the Mayan family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The final movement uses the words of Nahuatl poet<strong> Gustavo Zapoteco<\/strong>, with music that incorporates drums, and various clay flutes from the Aztec culture. It\u2019s a dramatic choral movement that talks about the suppression of the Nahuatl language in the Mexican school system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s one of the most spoken indigenous languages in Mexico today,\u201d Vilches says.<\/p>\n<h3>Working With the Poets<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI worked with five poets.\u201d He went beyond simply asking for their words, consulting the poets on the style of music, including rhythmic and melodic elements, as well as instrumentation, that they\u2019d like to be paired with their work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring this process, I tried to be as honest as possible in terms of using rhythms and styles from each of these communities,\u201d he said. \u201cI ended up deciding, that in addition to setting these poems to music, music that reflects these communities, I also include interludes of music. The work itself contains not only the five movements, but interludes or introductions to each movement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The small Latin American ensemble that will perform the musical portions will use the traditional instruments of the communities represented.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt puts us into a sound environment of those communities,\u201d he says, \u201cwithout trying to be a museum, or an exact copy of it.\u201d He\u2019s not trying to authentically reproduce the sounds of the past, in other words, but to bring them into the modern world. \u201cMusic is dynamic, and communities are changing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vilches notes that, while these Indigenous language are not considered endangered, they have suffered from many years of discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt some point, if things don&#8217;t change, they could be doomed for extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s hoping the Suite will contribute towards their continued vitality, and raise more awareness of them outside their communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not only the beauty of the music, but the beauty of the poetry,\u201d he says. \u201cI read hundreds of poems in different languages,\u201d he says. He was looking for a meaningful message along with the simple beauty of a poem per se. \u201cThe lyrics are very, very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through their lens of images and metaphors, they offer a look into the way the Indigenous communities view life. \u201cThey show us different ways of looking at the world. The words, the poetry, hasve a very strong message.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through his music, and the collective voice of a choir, he was looking to amplify that message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the beautiful things about a choir [is that] you have in this case five poems coming from a writer who is native to these communities, you have many voices who are amplifying those voices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vilches says he\u2019s actually working on a second suite of music using Indigenous poetry, noting that there are about 30 Indigenous languages in Mexico alone. He\u2019s already in the process of selecting the specific poems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of the selection process has to do with my experience of those communities.\u201d Vilches notes he has personal connections to them, as well as through his work as an artist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor this next work, I&#8217;m interested in doing some Guarayo, [spoken in] the Bolivian jungle, and Zapoteco, from Mexico. Perhaps another South American Indigenous language,\u201d he says. His goal this time will be to showcase languages that are lesser known. \u201cIt&#8217;s just a matter of finding a connecting thread in terms of the poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d like the diverse language poems to have a complementary message.<\/p>\n<p>While other composers and artists have worked in Indigenous languages of the Americas, they are typically limited by geography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think my approach, which is about the whole entirety of the continent Abya Yala, is [somewhat unique],\u201d Freddy says. \u201cI don\u2019t think there are very may works that try to integrate all these different languages and communities into one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_119626\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119626\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-119626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Jubilate-Singers-of-toronto.jpg\" alt=\"The Jubilate Singers of Toronto (Photo courtesy of The Jubilate Singers)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Jubilate-Singers-of-toronto.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Jubilate-Singers-of-toronto-300x143.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Jubilate-Singers-of-toronto-1024x488.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Jubilate-Singers-of-toronto-768x366.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-119626\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jubilate Singers of Toronto (Photo courtesy of The Jubilate Singers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The Shows<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Jubilate Singers<\/strong> is an auditioned community choir based in Toronto. Their performances draw from works that reflect the Greater Toronto Area\u2019s rich cultural diversity. The choir often collaborates with Latin American\u2012Canadian musicians such as Rodrigo Chavez, Cassava Latin Band, Sikuris St. Lawrence, and Proyecto Altiplano, as well as groups from the African, Jewish, South Asian, Baltic, and Ukrainian traditions, among others. Artistic Director <strong>Isabel Bernaus<\/strong> was born in Catalunya, Spain, and trained as a musician in both Europe and North America.<\/p>\n<p>The Jubilate Singers, directed by Isabel Nernaus, along with a Latin American ensemble featuring <strong>Nano Valverde<\/strong>, <strong>Freddy Vilches<\/strong>, <strong>Nico Vilches<\/strong>, <strong>Ernesto Cardenas<\/strong>, and <strong>Ellen Meyer<\/strong> (piano), will be performing the program both in Toronto (November 29) and in Kitchener (November 30).<\/p>\n<p>Vilches will be present to perform with the Latin American ensemble for both concerts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find tickets for both the November 29 performance in Toronto, and the November 30 performance in Kitchener [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jubilatesingers.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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