- Throughout the month of July, great musicians residing in Spain will meet in Cantabria to participate in a series of live concerts.
- Young artists from European schools will enjoy online masterclasses. Likewise, they can be seen in online recitals broadcast on the Reina Sofía School’s YouTube channel.
At 13:00 hours, the press conference was held to present the summer program organized by the Albéniz Foundation, called “Reencuentro”, which included the participation of Pablo Zuloaga, Vice President of the Government of Cantabria and Minister of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports; Paloma O’Shea, President of the Albéniz Foundation, and the Mayor of Santander, Gema Igual.
What would have been the XX edition of the Santander Music and Academy Encounter this summer 2020 could not be developed as a result of the mandatory restrictions in the fight against covid-19, but the Albéniz Foundation, under its mission to bring music closer to society and bet on culture and the learning of young musicians, has organized a special program for this month of July that includes various activities.
“We didn’t want to just cancel. Twenty years ago, the Albéniz Foundation set out to fill the month of July in Santander with good music, and this “Reencuentro” Cycle represents our desire to meet that objective this year as well and do our bit in the relaunch of the region. We also want to contribute to alleviating the difficult time that professional musicians are going through, who have seen their entire agenda canceled,” Paloma O’Shea highlighted.
For his part, the vice president of the Cantabrian Government and Minister of Culture has valued the work of the Albéniz Foundation so that Santander and Cantabria do not run out of one of the great cultural events of the summer and considered “good news” to reopen the doors of the Palacio de Festivales to accommodate this ‘Reencuentro’ with live music.
In this regard, it was Gema Igual who emphasized that “in an atypical, difficult and painful year like this 2020, when the pandemic has taken so much from us, we cannot let it also deprive us of the immense cultural pleasure that the Foundation’s program grants us. Although the XX edition of the Santander Music and Academy Encounter could not be held, this cycle will finally take place, where young musicians and Cantabrian artists of great prestige and exceptional qualities will be valued.”
On the one hand, a cycle of
The cycle will take place in different spaces in the capital of Santander (Sala Argenta of the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, Church of Santa Lucía, Auditorium of the Botín Center, Cloister of the Cathedral, Jardín de Caballerizas de La Magdalena) and will reach other localities of the Community: Alfoz de Lloredo-Cigüenza (Parish of San Martín), Castro Urdiales (Crystal Courtyard of the I.E.S. Ataúlfo Argenta), Laredo (Church of Santa María), Reocín-Villapresente (Casa de Cultura), Santillana (Cloister of the Diocesan Museum), Santiurde de Toranzo-Soto Iruz (Monastery of Ntra. Sra. del Soto), Torrelavega (Church of Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción) and Vega de Pas (Church of Ntra. Sra. de La Natividad).
Pablo Zuloaga also highlighted the commitment of the Government of Cantabria to recover the culture and the spaces that COVID-19 “had taken from us” and expressed his gratitude to the Albéniz Foundation for its work in favor of music and its professionals, both through young talents and others already established.
“With such a complete program, I encourage Santander residents and visitors to take advantage of this cultural window that will be a stimulus to revitalize the city and motivate citizens to go out and enjoy good music in these emblematic places of Santander”, Gema Igual stressed.
The concerts scheduled for July 2, 4, 11 and 14 will be broadcast live through the YouTube channel of the Reina Sofía School of Music.
Tickets for the concerts at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria have been on sale since June 24 at the physical and online box offices. The other concerts are free, with limited capacity, except for the one held at the Centro Botín (which will be by invitation to be collected at the center itself).
In order to offer maximum security, both to the artists and workers and to the public attending these concerts, strict hygiene and cleaning measures will be applied in the halls, as well as a reduction and distribution of capacity that guarantees respect for social distance. On behalf of the organization, we ask the public for their collaboration and compliance with the instructions they may receive insitu.
“Reencuentro”, in its online version, brings together masterclasses and recitals with young musicians from European schools and former participants of the Santander Music and Academy Encounter
The program for this summer 2020, “Reencuentro”, also includes two complementary activities that will be developed online organized by the maestro Péter Csaba, artistic director of the Santander Encounter and which bring the international character to the musical activity programmed. Young musicians selected from the main European conservatories of Amsterdam, Belgium, Berlin, Budapest, London, Madrid and Zurich, will receive
The teachers who will teach the young artists during this digital “Reencuentro” will be: François Benda, clarinet; Zakhar Bron, violin; John Graham-Hall, singing; Nobuko Imai, viola; Jens Peter Maintz, cello; Claudio Martínez Mehner, piano; Felix Renggli, flute; Radovan Vlatkovic, horn, and Dominik Wollenweber, oboe.
“Culture is always important, but even more so now, in times of uncertainty and crisis, because it helps us understand what we are and put things into perspective. I am very happy to see that the Government of Cantabria and the Santander City Council understand this and demonstrate it by promoting initiatives like this one”, said the president of the Albéniz Foundation.
This summer program of the Albéniz Foundation has received the support of the main public institutions of Cantabria, as well as another series of general sponsors: Government of Cantabria; Ministry of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports; Santander City Council; Ministry of Culture and Sports (INAEM); Albéniz Foundation; Reina Sofía School of Music; International Institute of Chamber Music of Madrid; Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria; Sociedad Regional Educación, Cultura y Deporte S.L.; Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council.
As concert sponsors: Café Dromedario; El Diario Montañés; Banco Santander Foundation; Botín Foundation; TIRSO Group; Santos Hotels; Textil Santanderina S.A.; University of Cantabria; Veolia and VIESGO.
And as collaborating entities: Agua de Solares; Volvo Spain; Yamaha Pianos; Bishopric of Santander; D. Juan Ignacio Cruz Gómez and Dª Ana Melgosa.
