Suelen Estar Quartet

SOUNDPAINTING TT’25. An Evening with Walter Thompson and a Performance by Suelen Estar Quartet

13 July 2025
6 p.m.
CGAC Auditorium
Coordination:
Gema Baños
Enrolment rate:
Free entry until full capacity is reached

Soundpainting is 51 years old. And its creator, Walter Thompson, is returning to Compostela to be a part of the International Soundpainting Think Tank, organised this year by the Orquestra Galega de Liberación. Soundpainting is a sign language applied to multidisciplinary composition in real time. In this session, Walter Thompson will share his impressions, memory and vision of the future for this brilliant tool, which has transformed hundreds and thousands of artistic lives all around the world, with Xacobe Martínez Antelo and other international soundpainters. On behalf of the Orquestra Galega de Liberación, the Suelen Estar Quartet will develop the practical and sound part of the event, making themselves available to the soundpainters in attendance to exemplify the themes addressed during the session.

 

SUELEN ESTAR QUARTET

Without scores, but heir to the classical tradition and influenced by diverse musical styles, the Suelen Estar Quartet was a pioneer in the national field of free improvisation with classical string instruments.

Created in Vigo in 2011 by Elena  Vázquez (violin), María José Pámpano (violin/viola), Macarena Montesinos (cello) and Saúl Puga (double bass), this string quartet boasts an extensive artistic career that includes participation in festivals such as the WOS Festival, Zarata Fest, Festival TPS, Binaural Fest, Santiago de Compostela’s Contemporary Music Events, Music in the Air Festival, Imagina Sonidos, Festival Alt and Festival Seis Cuerdas, among many others.

The group, characterised by its remarkable versatility and instantaneous creative ability, is often asked to collaborate with other contemporary and sound art artists and groups, such as Vértigo Sonoro, Dorian Wood, Pablo Riega, Orquestra de Música Espontánea de Galicia (Omega), Christina Vantzou, Sumrrá or FAIA. They are currently the resident quartet of Ensemble Libertad and Orquestra Galega de Liberación, in which they explore the language of soundpainting and composition in situ under the direction of the double bassist Xacobe Martínez Antelo.