Cuenca Symphony Premieres Four Ecuadorian Works Friday Night

Cuenca has a serious Friday-night culture option this week.

The Cuenca Symphony Orchestra will present a concert dedicated to contemporary Ecuadorian creation on June 12, 2026, with the world premiere of four works.

The concert starts at 20:00 at Teatro Pumapungo. Admission is free.

The Program

The concert will be directed by Andrea Vela and will include about 60 musicians.

The program includes:

• Inter Strata, by Julián Quintero Silva
• Respuestas: Homenaje a Maiguashca, by José Rafael Subía Valdez
• Concertino para clarinete y orquesta, by Mesías Maiguashca, with Paulo Morocho as invited clarinetist
• Vox, by Juan Campoverde Q.

Vela described the concert as an invitation to hear sounds away from traditional repertoire, with a contemporary and atonal language.

Why This Is Different

The works use unusual resources alongside the orchestra's instruments, including rubber bands, bottles, jars, whistles and sponges.

The string section will also use extended techniques, including glissandos made with plastic cards and different types of pizzicato that create metallic effects and new textures.

In Vox, the orchestra interacts with an electroacoustic track that includes nature recordings and bird songs.

Good Expat Night Out

This is the kind of Cuenca event that is easy to miss if you do not follow the local arts calendar closely: free, central, and very much part of the city's serious cultural life.

If you are curious about Ecuadorian contemporary music, Teatro Pumapungo is the place to be Friday night.