Coral Andra Mari was founded in 1966 by José Luis Ansorena Miranda, who was its director until February 1994, then the present director José Manuel Tife Iparragirre took over.
Coral Andra Mari won many prizes in the different competitions in which it has taken part and it has played several times in Madrid (Teatro Real, Auditorio Nacional, etc.), Barcelona, Sevilla, Tenerife, Festival de Perelada, Festival Internacional de Santander, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Navidad en Málaga, Bilbao Opera Season, etc.
It has also collaborated with the Orquesta Sinfónica of Euskadi, Orquesta Sinfónica of Bilbao, Nacional of España, Orquesta of Tenerife, Orquesta of Galicia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta de Cadaqués, Sinfónica de Madrid, Orquesta Regional Bayonne Côte-Basque, Thüringen Philharmonie Orchester, Orquesta del Siglo XVIII…, and with the conductors Enrique García Asensio, Odón Alonso, Maximiano Valdes, Frans Brüggen, Nicholas Kramer, Jesús López Cobos, Leopold Hager, Andreas Mitisek, Paul Daniel, Carlo Rizzi, Doron Salomón, David Robertson, Antoni Ros Marbá, Juanjo Mena, Victor Pablo Perez, Cristian Mandeal, Stefano Ranzani, Jean Claude Malgoire, Andrés Orozco Estrada, Pablo González, Andrei Boreyko…
Coral Andra Mari has done tours in Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal, Argentina, etc. It has recorded about twenty CDs. It worked in a wide range of choral music, it participated in operas and zarzuelas, and its specialty is the Basque music
Their children choirs Orereta and Oinarri, lead by Imanol Elizasu are regarded as the leading choirs regards to education of children in the formation of voices and choral discipline in children education.
Andra Mari has created the Musikaste festival in Errenteria, the Basque Composers Week, which is celebrated annually, as well as Eresbil, Musikaren Euskal Artxiboa/Archivo Vasco de la Música (Basque archive of Music), collecting more than 25000 music scores from 1469 Basque composers of all times.
SOME MAJOR WORKS IN REPERTOIRE:
« MATHAUSS PASSION », J. S. BACH
THEODORA AND TE DEUM, G. F. HAENDEL
2ND SYNPHONY «Lobgesang», FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTOLDY
9TH SYNPHONY, L. V. BEETHOVEN
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST, H. BERLIOZ
8TH SYNPHONY, G. MALHER
8TH SYNPHONY, D. SHOSTAKOVICH
SCHÖPFUNG THE CRATION, F. J. HAYDN
STABAT MATER, A. DVORAK
LA VIDA BREVE, M. DE FALLA
MESSA DI GLORIA, G. PUCCINI
SEA SYNPHONY, W. WILLIAMS
CAROLS, B. BRITTEN
NÄNIE and GESANG DER PARZEN, J. BRAHMS
And much more.
ON STAGE AND CONCERT:
17 OPERAS (DON PASQUALE, LUCIA DE LAMMERMOOR, CARMEN, LE PÊCHEUR DES PERLES, LA BOHÈME, MADAME BUTTERFLY…)
6 ZARZUELAS (EL CASERIO, BLACK EL PAYASO, MENDI MENDIYAN…)
BASQUE CLASICAL MUSIC:
Usandizaga, Sorozabal, Escudero, Donostia, Guridi, F. Ibarrondo…
