Santander, 2 July 2025 – Today, the presentation of the 24th Santander Music and Academy Encounter took place at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria. The event was attended by Luis Martínez Abad, Regional Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Government of Cantabria; Gema Igual, Mayor of Santander; Paloma O’Shea, Founding President of the Reina Sofía School of Music and the Albéniz Foundation; Márta Gulyás and Luis Fernando Pérez, the new Artistic Directors of the Encounter; and Maestro Péter Csaba, who will conduct the opening concert.

Throughout the month of July, the Santander Music and Academy Encounter will bring together 11 renowned professors and 67 young musicians, selected by the new artistic directors, Márta Gulyás and Luis Fernando Pérez, through online auditions. Professors and students will work side by side in the classroom and on stage, providing an enriching experience of interaction and collaboration. The programme features major international repertoire and will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss, the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitry Shostakovich, and the centenary of the death of Erik Satie.

The Opening Concert will take place on Tuesday, 8 July at 8:00 p.m. in the Sala Argenta of the Palacio de Festivales, sponsored by Fundación EDP. The Freixenet Symphony Orchestra of the Encounter, conducted by Maestro Péter Csaba, will perform works by Brahms and Ravel. The Closing Concert will be held on 26 July at 8:00 p.m., also in the Sala Argenta, with conductor Jordi Francés leading the Encounter’s String Ensemble and guest accordionist Iñaki Alberdi. The concert will feature a work by Sofia Gubaidulina, honoured on this occasion sponsored by Fundación Banco Santander.

The academic activity (masterclasses, individual study, chamber music groups and larger ensembles) will take place at the Jesús de Monasterio Conservatory. This year, masterclasses will be offered in violin, viola, cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, voice, and piano.

The concert schedule will include 46 performances, which can be consulted in the Encounter Agenda.

Madrid, 17 June 2025 – This afternoon, the Closing Ceremony of the 2024–2025 academic year of the Reina Sofía School of Music and the institution’s annual awards presentation took place in Auditorium 400 of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, presided over by Her Majesty Queen Sofía.

The event began with a speech by Paloma O’Shea, Founding President of the School, who reflected on the institution’s recent activities and its future outlook.

“I am grateful for the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sofía, who not only gave her name and support to the School when it was little more than a dream, but has cared for and accompanied it throughout these 34 years. We are also joined today by Emilio Viciana, Minister of Education of the Community of Madrid, and Manuel Segade, Director of the Museo Reina Sofía, which is kindly hosting us.”

Paloma O’Shea highlighted the School’s artistic initiatives: “Our most ambitious project is the upcoming trip to New York. Following our successful tour through Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna, our orchestra will perform this November at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Maestro Andrés Orozco-Estrada. These tours allow our students to begin experiencing the pressures of professional life.”

She also emphasised that “The School holds a leading place in international music education, with both professors and students selected solely on merit. Our focus on ensemble music, on bringing what happens in the classroom to the stage, and on the intense master-disciple relationship are our hallmarks. Our students and alumni hold key positions in Spain’s leading orchestras and many of Europe’s finest, and they are also winners of major international competitions.”

Her Majesty Queen Sofía then presented the Diplomas to the most outstanding students in the violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, piano, voice, composition, orchestra conducting, and chamber music departments (string quartets, wind ensembles, and piano groups).

Afterwards, Queen Sofía awarded the School Plaques to professors Nicolás Pasquet, Head of the Zubin Mehta Conducting Chair supported by Aline Foriel-Destezet, and Florent Boffard, Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Piano – both among the latest additions to the School’s academic offering – as well as to Rosa Lázaro, a member of the Reina Sofía School’s Academic Department since its founding in 1991.

The Medal of Honour – the School’s highest distinction, created by sculptor Julio López Hernández – was also presented in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the institution to: Nobuko Imai, Professor of the BBVA Foundation Viola Chair (her most outstanding student of the 2024–2025 academic year, Hiroki Kasai, accepted the medal on her behalf); David del Puerto, composer and harmony professor at the School; and Juan A. Mendoza V., for his twenty-five years of leadership as Artistic Director of the School.

The ceremony concluded with a concert by the Freixenet Orchestra of the School, conducted by Maestro Pablo González, performing Wolfgang A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271 “Jeunehomme”, with student Michael Davidman—recent winner of the American Piano Awards—as soloist.