The Havana Soloists, a distinguished chamber music orchestra, was founded in 1998 by Maestro Iván Valiente, who serves as its director; and María Elena Mendiola is its principal conductor. The orchestra’s roster includes twenty young musicians who have graduated from art schools.

Among the goals pursued by its director is the rescue of the multi-format tradition; hence, one of the group’s defining characteristics, in addition to its excellent chamber work, is that it is divided into soloists, duos, trios, and quartets for the performance of other works. Likewise, performing premieres and recovering little-known or previously unheard works in Cuba, regardless of style, period, or even popular music, is another of the goals of Solistas de La Habana.

This chamber music orchestra toured Cuba in 2009, divided into three parts: in April they toured venues in the western region; in May, the central region; and in October, the eastern region. In the latter region, they began their journey in the province of Guantánamo, where they performed two concerts, in the cities of Guantánamo and Baracoa, at the Guaso Theater and the House of Culture, respectively. There, they joined flautist Axel Rodríguez Lora to perform Adriano Galliussi’s Cortejo fúnebre and Bufón; a world premiere. In Granma province, they performed at the Bayamo Theater.

During the tour they performed, among other works: Music for Strings by Carlos Fariñas, Le plus que lente by Claude Debussy, and Serenade Opus XX by Antonin Dvorák.

The following year, the orchestra was busy, participating in several projects, including the recording of an album of Gerardo Alfonso songs, featuring works composed fourteen years earlier. It also recorded a trilogy of albums featuring songs by Silvio Rodríguez, alongside singer Augusto Enríquez.

In September 2011, she gave a concert at the Minor Basilica of San Francisco de Asís (Oficios e/ Amargura and Churruca, Old Havana, Havana), guided by Japanese maestro Yoshikazu Fukumura. They presented a program consisting of works by composers such as John Williams, Toru Takemitsu, A. Marcello, and J.S. Bach.

Since its founding, this group has shared the stage with significant figures and groups in the world of music, such as Chucho Valdés, Frank Fernández, José María and Sergio Vitier, Leo Brouwer, Kenneth Nafziger (American), Natalie Martín (French), Francesco Belli (Italian), Yoshikazu Fukumura (Japanese), the Exaudi chamber choir, and the Ars Longa Early Music ensemble.

Solistas de La Habana has participated in the soundtrack, composed by Sergio Vitier, for the film Roble de olor by director Rigoberto López. He has also made his mark on the documentary Misión contra terror (Mission Against Terror). They recorded José María Vitier’s song Misa Cubana (Cuban Mass); and they have also recorded several albums with Leo Brouwer and Gerardo Alfonso. He has recorded albums with Silvio Rodríguez, the Exaudi Choir, and Augusto Enríquez.