Sacred Music Week 2025: A Celebration of Knowledge and Cultural Dialogue

The eleventh edition of Sacred Music Week will begin on September 28 and will serve as an intensive platform for showcasing results, amplifying learning, and fostering meaningful exchanges—a true celebration of knowledge and cultural dialogue. This event follows a series of liturgical activities and captivating concerts coordinated throughout the year.

Running through October 5, the program will feature several events to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Esteban Salas, the distinguished composer who created a vast musical universe without leaving Cuba, rivaling the leading figures of his era. According to Dr. Claudia Fallarero, an expert in musicology, Salas’ work serves as a stylistic cornerstone in the history of sacred music in the Caribbean, having been revisited by numerous composers and performers.

The inaugural concert at Havana Cathedral will honor Salas with a sacred music repertoire that spans the 18th to the 21st centuries. Performers will include the Lyceum Orchestra of Havana, Schola Cantorum Coralina, the chamber choirs Vocal Leo and the National Art School (ENA) Choir, as well as choral ensembles Cantores Claudio Monteverdi, Vox Cordis, the female choir from the Provincial Arts School of Matanzas, the Corona Ensemble, guitarist Yalit González, and Ensemble Cantabile.

This edition will maintain the format established in previous years, where concerts and workshops alternate to enrich one another. Public showcases will emerge from learning at the Padre Félix Varela Cultural Center and at venues such as Havana Cathedral, the Church, and the Minor Basilica of the Convent of San Francisco de Asís.

The event aims to enhance the education of students in the Sacred Music Chair, as well as those in secondary and higher-level artistic studies. A special workshop will explore the historical evolution of the Mass in Cuba, featuring works from Esteban Salas to José María Vitier. This session is organized by the San Gerónimo University College of Havana and its Musical Heritage Office, notes the esteemed musicologist.

In an era that challenges altruistic initiatives meant to uplift the spirit, the Chair expresses gratitude for the intellectual and logistical support received from numerous musicians, ensembles, educational and administrative institutions, dioceses, foundations, and cultural and consular spaces— all of which contribute yearly to establishing Havana as a benchmark for high-quality cultural programming.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez

Photo: Sacred Music Chair of the Padre Félix Varela Cultural Center / Facebook