Is the evening worth it for visitors in the south?
The evening in Guía is aimed first of all at the town's own residents. The Ayuntamiento (town council) urges locals to come and support the choirs and does not mention visitors.
For holidaymakers nothing changes: there is no road closure or diversion, and the council names no ticket requirement. Anyone already in Guía that Friday can pencil the evening in.
A trip from the south is worth it mainly for people who love choral music. The council has published nothing on getting there, parking or buses, so anyone coming by guagua (the local bus) should check timetables and the return journey beforehand.
There is also nothing on how long the evening lasts or what will be sung. Anyone with an early start the next morning should allow some leeway.
When and where does the choir meeting take place?
The Encuentro Coral (choir meeting) begins on Friday 6 November 2026 at 20:30. That makes it a date for last-minute planners.
The venue is the Iglesia de Santa María de Guía, the town's church. The council gives no more precise address in its announcement.
Entry is free, and the council mentions neither tickets nor registration. Nothing says whether seats go on a first-come basis.
The host is the Ayuntamiento de Santa María de Guía. It has not said which pieces will be performed or how long the evening will run.
Which six choirs sing in Guía?
First up is the Coro de las Escuelas Artísticas Ciudad de Guía, the choir of the local arts schools, under Esther Suárez. It is joined by the Coral del Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria with Ignacio Viguera and the Coral Amati with Narmis Hernández.
The Coral Mares de Ingenio with Marta Bello and the Coro de Cámara Ainur with Mariola Rodríguez complete the line-up. The sixth group is the Coral Polifónica de Gáldar.
The council also names Esther Suárez as director of the Coral Polifónica de Gáldar. According to the announcement, she therefore leads two of the six groups.
The Coro de Cámara Ainur is no stranger to the festival. According to our research, it sang at the opening concert of the 7th edition in 2024, alongside Comcanto, Chelys Odays and Súbito Koral.
What is behind the festival?
The IX Festival Internacional de Música Coral de Canarias runs from 2 October to 28 November 2026. According to the organisers at Coros Canarios, it has 19 concerts, two school meetings and 38 groups.
More than 2,200 people from the choral scene take part, the organisers say. These figures come from a summary by the organisers, and the full programme was not available.
The festival is run by the Coros Canarios platform and the Fundación Canaria Isla de Europa. The Gobierno de Canarias (Canary government) joins in through the Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural (ICDC), its cultural agency.
Guía stages its own evening. Culture councillor Julián Melián says: “This meeting lets us share the work of our Escuelas Artísticas with other groups.”
The festival's cost and each backer's share have not been published. Only the three funders are named: the Canary government via the ICDC, the Fundación and the Guía council.
Which other concerts are planned until the end of November?
The festival opened on 2 October at 20:00 with the Ensemble Vocale Cantica Nova from Sicily. That concert took place at the Iglesia de San Francisco de Borja in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and is already over.
Still to come is a performance by the Schola Cantorum ULPGC. It is on 20 November at 19:00 in the Catedral de Las Palmas.
The organisers also announce concerts in Arucas and Gáldar, including the Coro Contemporáneo de Tenerife, and a matinee at the Gabinete Literario. Dates, times and prices for these were not available.
Do not confuse the festival with the Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias. According to its published programme, that classical series ran in its 42nd edition from 8 January to 7 February 2026, with more than 60 concerts across the eight islands.
Anyone who wants to follow the choir festival can find the full programme on the organisers' site at coroscanarios.org. Prices for the other concerts can be checked there too.