The Basque National Orchestra and Ken Zazpi together at Miramón

The Basque National Orchestra Headquarters in Miramón is the setting in which a singular project is materializing: Ken Zazpi for the first time in symphonic version. The most recognized repertoire and unedited works by the group led by Eñaut Elorrieta performed alongside the Basque Orchestra. On the music stands are the arrangements created by composer Fernando Velázquez, who directs the project. A new initiative by the Orchestra to bring its work closer to society, now the youngest audience, at the hand of one of the most renowned groups within the current Basque pop-rock scene.

After the first phase of the project, focused on the selection and adaptation of the symphonic language to the music of Ken Zazpi, the songs in which the Orchestra and the group from Guernica will work on together from August 21st to 28th will be recorded on a CD which, edited by the Elkar recording company, will be released on November 8th. They will later offer five concerts in December within the KlasikAT cycle. The Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián (December 3rd), the Baluarte Auditorium in Pamplona (December 4th), the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao (December 5th), the Principal Theatre in Vitoria (December 12th) and the Jai-Alai in San Juan de Luz (December 13th). These are some of the stages in which audiences will be able to enjoy the Orchestra's new incursion into repertoires that differ from classical music. Information on the sale of tickets for the concerts will be provided later on.

In addition to its work of disseminating and supporting creation in the field of classic and contemporary music, the Basque Orchestra firmly supports musical production in all its dimensions. Mike Oldfield, Jorge Drexler, Michel Camilo, Joan Manuel Serrat, Emilio Aragón, Mikel Laboa, Benito Lertxundi, Kepa Junkera and Fernando Velázquez himself are some of the artists which the orchestra has collaborated with along this line. Over the last few years the efforts have concentrated on the start-up and consolidation of KlasikAT, a crossover cycle by the Basque Orchestra which now reaches its fourth edition.

Fernando Velázquez directs the project. The composer from Getxo, Fernando Velázquez, author of soundtracks from cinematographic successes like The Orphanage and The Impossible, is in charge of the arrangements for symphonic orchestra and is also responsible for the musical direction of the symphonic pop-rock proposal. Previously, Fernando Velázquez directed the Basque Orchestra in the recording of the soundtrack for the film For the Good of Others (2009) and the song Madera de deriva (Driftwood) by Jorge Drexler, within the n project by the Uruguayan singer-songwriter (2012). In addition, he directed an opening concert for the past edition of Zinemaldia focused on its soundtracks and, in the past month of June, he performed the opening concert for the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) 2013 held at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián.