Her Majesty Queen Sofía, Honorary President of the Reina Sofía School of Music, presided, telematically, over the annual meeting of the School’s Board of Trustees, the highest representative body of this center for advanced professional training.
The president of the School, Paloma O’Shea, thanked Her Majesty Queen Sofía for her telematic presence, and warmly welcomed the representatives of public institutions: Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid; José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid; Eduardo Sicilia, Minister of Science, Universities and Innovation; Marta Rivera, Minister of Culture and Sports; Andrea Gavela, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Sports; Ángeles Moreno, Secretary of State for International Cooperation; and Amaya de Miguel, General Director of INAEM.
Many private patrons have also wanted to support the work of the School with their presence and learn about the news for the coming months: José María Álvarez-Pallete, president of Telefónica; Carlos Torres Vila, president of BBVA; Isidro Fainé, president of the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation; Federico Linares, president of EY España; Fernando Masaveu, president of the María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation; Ignacio Ybarra, president of Vocento; Francisco Toledo, president of Puertos del Estado; Carlos Barrasa, president of BP España; Ignacio Polanco, individual patron, among others.
Paloma O’Shea began with a heartfelt recognition of the School’s first professor, Dmitri Bashkirov, who passed away last Sunday, March 7, and who inaugurated the Banco Santander Foundation Piano Chair. For thirty years he trained world-class pianists, and his work was recognized by the Spanish Government, which granted him Spanish nationality and the Encomienda of the Civil Order of Alfonso X el Sabio in 2008.
Next, after a video summary of the achievements and challenges of the Reina Sofia School in 2020 was shown, where the commitment to music and technology in times of health crisis could be observed, Paloma O’Shea announced the incorporation of great masters to the faculty: Christoph Poppen will host the Telefónica Violin Chair that Ana Chumachenco had left vacant; and the novel creation of a Contemporary Music Program led by maestro Pierre Laurent-Aimard, as well as a Baroque Music Program.
The Founding President of the School thanked “all the patrons for having remained by the side of the School in difficult circumstances, in some cases, in the midst of adjustments and cuts.
You have decided to consider music as an essential activity, a pillar of our coexistence that deserves your support even in the most unfavorable moments, which, for us, has been a huge stimulus. We have even had two incorporations to the project: Merlin Properties has joined and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon has returned”.
“We want to be eligible to participate in the European Recovery Fund, for which we are working jointly with other agents in the sector. I believe that we have much to contribute in two of the axes of this plan: digitization and social cohesion. We also remained in contact with the sector when the pandemic called into question the role of culture. We came together with other artistic schools to hold meetings, give voice to the students and even influence the national debate through a forum in the newspaper El País, which had a great impact. I believe that we have contributed our grain of sand so that today, the concept of “safe culture” has made Spain a benchmark in the world of music. When all of Europe is closed, we have found a way to continue holding concerts, operas and festivals without putting health at risk.”
Paloma O’Shea wanted to point out to Her Majesty that this year, at the Closing ceremony of the course, on June 22, in addition to the diplomas to the students, she would like “you to present the “Magister Emeritus” Medal to our beloved professor Zakhar Bron, after 30 years of teaching, and the Medal of Honor of the School to Radovan Vlatković and Rodolfo Epelde, professors of the Trompa Fundación Bancaria “la Caixa” Chair, and to Hansjörg Schellenberger and Víctor Ánchel, of the Oboe Chair. Likewise, we want to distinguish with the Medal of Honor the outstanding patrons Antonio Llardén, president of Enagás, after many years of service on this Board of Trustees, and Aline Foriel-Destezet, member of the International Circle of the School who has just assumed the patronage of the Violoncelo Chair”.
“At the Closing Ceremony we will have the presence of the great conductor David Afkham, current head of the National Orchestra of Spain, and in autumn, within our 30th Anniversary -whose celebration has deserved the Government’s declaration of Event of Exceptional Public Interest- we will celebrate a tour of Europe with our Principal Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada. It will begin on October 7, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, with a concert that we would like to be, in addition, a great act of gratitude and tribute to Your Majesty for your continued involvement, for being the soul of this project that promoted a school of international reference. Afterwards, the Symphony Orchestra will travel through the most outstanding halls of Bratislava and Budapest and, as a culmination, will perform in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, surely the most prestigious concert hall in the world”.
After the speech of the Founding President, it was the turn of the General Director of the Reina Sofía School, Julia Sánchez, who explained the current situation of the School, and the commitment to innovation and sustainability of the institution.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, expressed his gratitude to Queen Sofía for her support of Culture and for her affection for the city of Madrid, and wanted to highlight the work of this institution that in such a short time, 30 years, has managed to be one of the great international institutions that Madrid hosts “its work entails the search for both talent and youth to fulfill the dreams of musicians. Under sustainability and digitization, the School is sure to reach even greater levels of global excellence. Congratulations on this last course, immersed in the pandemic, in which the teaching work did not cease and the 159 students continued their training, being a reason for hope. It is a pride for the city of Madrid to have this School and we will continue to support it institutionally and budgetarily”.
For her part, the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, wanted to emphasize in her speech: “I remember the last board of trustees meeting that we held a year ago at the gates of a terrible pandemic that has changed many things in the world. From Madrid we have made a firm commitment to Culture, to keep it alive, and we believe that it has been a very necessary decision to have glimmers of hope. The Community of Madrid has always defended public-private collaboration, and this School is a demonstration that this model is a success. We are delighted to support the School, we are very proud of it, of its work, of its thirty years. Music is the universal language and this school is faithful to this vocation. Few in the world can boast of teaching students from so many countries and offering them so many opportunities”.
