Irina & Isidro Duo (Logroño)

The “Duo Emerald”, this was its original name, started in December 1998 and ever since has been developing an intense musical activity in La Rioja, Navarre, Guipúzcoa, etc, making interchanges with groups of Valencia (Orchestra Villa de Chiva), Russia (Yekaterinburg), taking part at Plucked String Festivals such as  Alcala de Henares (Madrid), or “City of Crystal” of Corunna or International Meeting of Plucked Strings of Gijón.
Since 2001 they have been organizing every year  in the second half  of  August the “Meeting of Plucked Music among  Russian and La Riojan young people”, as teachers of plucked instruments and guitar, respectively, along with prestigious teachers and Russian  dance masters. Besides, they have played together with other Russian musicians, a Balalaika and Piano dueto coming from Yekaterinburg, within the Contest of Musical, Cultural Interchanges and Popular Instruments, building up the “Musical Moment” quartet
 

Isidro Martinez
Born in Logroño, he started to study guitar with 14 years at the Professional Conservatory of Music of La Rioja, with Professor Carlos Centeno , finishing studies with Honour degree.
He received improvement lessons by important guitarists such as   Jose Luis González in the courses of guitar of Estella (Navarre) and Paulino  Blanco Garcia. He is Guitar teacher at  Piccolo and Saxo   School in Logroño. He completed his musical education at the Superior Conservatory “Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga” in Bilbao with professor Bienvenido Rodriguez

The “Young La Riojan Plucked String Orchestra” was created in 2001 with students of   Piccolo and Saxo music school and of Logroño's Conservatory,  under musical conduction of Irina Kazimirskaya (Plucked instruments  and Piano) and  Isidro Martinez (Guitar). It  started with 12 instruments: mandolins, bandurrias, guitars, piano, violin and flute.

In the first year of existence they already took part in the I Encounter of plucked string Orchestras with Groups of Russian and La Riojan Young people, realized in Alfaro in August, together with students of the Group of Popular Instruments of the Conservatory of Krasnoyarsk - Lizeisty, under the conduction of Ludmila Vajrusheva. This ensemble  was composed by domras (low and high), balalaikas, bass and accordion.

Its main activity is centred in the summer courses and encounters La Rioja - Russia,  ruled  by Irina and Isidro, as well as in the concerts that the Musical Society Emerald organizes in different editions of the International Contest of Cultural Interchanges and Popular Instruments. Thus, in 2005, the  5º Meeting took place and they shared concerts and activities with the Baroque Quartet ‘Plectrum’, the Musical Group Melody of the Urals and the Dance Group Souvenir, that came with Ludmila Arimova, director of the School of Culture of Yekaterinburg, the famous ballet teacher Tamara Vedernikova and professor Galina Drodz.
The young orchestra  was  also  invited to the prestigious event, the International Festival “City of Crystal” of Corunna (XIII 2002)

The repertoire of the Young La Riojan Orchestra includes works of  baroque and classic composers (Bizet, Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart), more modern and contemporary  pieces (Astor Piazzola, Fernandez Rojas, Grieg, Kuwahara etc) as well as  arrangements of Spanish and Russian popular music (zarzuela, jotas, etc.).

At the moment, the orchestra is available only with plucked instruments and guitars (mandolins, bandurrias, lutes, bass guitar). Other instruments are not excluded if required for some particular pieces