We had the good fortune of connecting with The Last Hundred and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The mission of The Last Hundred (TLH) is to present high-quality art music written in the last one hundred years, acting as a liaison between modern and contemporary music. A central aspect of TLH is to create a professional ensemble that will feature some of the best musicians from our area as well as to invite guest performers, composers, and ensembles from other cities, states, and countries to perform, give lectures, and teach masterclasses in our community. TLH aims to create carefully selected and crafted events where audience members can experience music in a welcoming setting. In the spirit of promoting new works, the organization is committed to presenting and commissioning pieces by a wide range of composers working locally, nationally, and internationally. Ultimately, TLH wishes to create a culturally enriching environment where those who love classical music from the 20th century to our days, as well as those who are new to it, can explore this rich yet largely underrepresented repertoire.
As mentioned TLH’s co-founders are Juan Trigos, composer, artistic director and principal conductor of TLH, Daniela D’Ingiullo, soprano and manager of TLH, Federico Bonacossa, guitar player and composer and Catalina von Wrangler, composer and clarinet player.
Each of us had different motivations to form this group.
Juan Trigos:
I love all music, particularly classical music, and its evolution up to our times. For me, each period has its charm and mystique. I do not think any of them is better because they are more or less modern or old, but because of its own constitution and artistic proposal. Each composer chooses the language “ad hoc” to him/her in order to express himself/herself better. In the case of TLH, our vocation is to present the works of the last 100 years, which implies a tide of aesthetic trends, that includes brand new works and commissions. What is trendy now or progressive is not necessarily better than the old. As an example, I can say that the language that is chosen for a given writing or reading is not better in itself than the other. In other words, Japanese is not better than Turkish, it is just different. As a conductor I always feel very motivated by the challenge that each proposal represents. It goes from the choice of the repertoire, through the study and rehearsals, until reaching the public performance. Of course, as a composer, it is also very stimulating to be able to present a new work like in this occasion.
Federico Bonacossa: I have been involved in organizing events for some years now, both independently and as a former board member of Compositum Musicae Novae. Just before the pandemic Juan Trigos, Daniela D’Ingiullo and I worked on a project with the Sinfonietta MIQ, an ensemble that Juan founded in Guanajuato. We almost immediately began discussing the idea of creating an ensemble in Miami. Catalina, who is a close friend and former classmate, joined in right from the very beginning. I am very proud of what we have accomplished so far.
Daniela D’Ingiullo: For several years I worked as a soloist and producer in many projects (concerts, operas, international tours) principally in Europe, the U.S. and Mexico promoting music from the XX and XXI Centuries . TLH is the first nonprofit organization I co-founded. I feel this is an important step at this point of my career because I can grow my artistic path and, at the same time, build together with my colleagues Federico, Catalina and Juan, something that matters for our community.
Catalina von Wrangell: My motivation is to share great music with the Miami public that is not programmed often or often together in the same concert/season. More than that, since our focus is the last hundred years, my hope is that we can strike a balance between sharing the music that already belongs to the canon and music that is lesser known, as well as newly commissioned works.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Miami is a big city and is very difficult to choose an itinerary. For sure, we would suggest to attend an event at the New World Symphony, the Florida Grand Opera or the Miami City Ballet, just to mention a few. Visit The Institute of Contemporary Art, Spend some time at the beach, take a drink in Lincoln Rd in Miami Beach. Well… and of course we would suggest to attend some of our concerts! One of our favorite places to hung out after concerts for example is the Yard House in Coral Gables or in Miami Beach.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In 2019, Juan Trigos, Daniela D’Ingiullo and Federico Bonacossa were working together on different projects and came up with the idea to start an ensemble. Juan Trigos thought that the concept of promoting music from the last one hundred years would be a great idea to create a liaison between the XX Century repertoire and contemporary music, so we decided to call ourselves The Last Hundred. Right after, we started to talk about opening a nonprofit and at that point we thought of bringing more people on board and the first to come was Catalina von Wrangell. In 2020 unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to delay our first performance until June 2021 when we had our first appearance in public. We would like to dedicate this interview to all the friends, colleagues and institutions helped us in this process. To mention some of the institutions who trusted and supported us: Miami-Dade Cultural Grant, The Wertheim Performing Arts Center at Florida International University, the musicians whom collaborated in the past concerts and the Puppet Company “La Coperacha” of Guadalajara (Mexico).
Website: www.thelasthundred.org
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelasthundred/
Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastHundred
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelasthundred/
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@thelasthundred