Madrid, February 6, 2024. – Her Majesty Queen Sofía, Honorary President of the Reina Sofía School of Music, presided over the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the School, the main representative body of this center for advanced musical training.
The President of the School, Paloma O’Shea, thanked Her Majesty Queen Sofía for her presence, and welcomed the new representatives of the public institutions: Paz Santa Cecilia Aristu, General Director of INAEM; Emilio Viciana, Minister of Education, Science and Universities, and Mariano de Paco, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, of the Community of Madrid.
Many private patrons have also shown their support for the School’s work with their presence and learned about the latest developments for the coming months.
“I thank all the patrons for their collaboration and, above all, for the renewal of their agreements. I know that it is not always easy, because your companies have many needs to attend to and, even so, you continue to support the School as a channel for your social action. I also greatly appreciate the activities that many of you carry out with us to bring music closer to your stakeholders,” Paloma O’Shea began by conveying to the entire Board.
“The School is in a very good and special moment. We look to the future with confidence because we maintain the principles on which we founded the School in 1991. Our General Director, Julia Sánchez, is opening the School to the 21st century and has led the strategic plan 24/28 with the help of Bain, which includes a music school for children, which is, surely, my last dream. Likewise, we are in a process of architectural competition for the facilities of the new building ceded by the Ministry of Culture, as well as working on the financing to undertake the work, and it is necessary to reform and equip 4,500 square meters”, said Paloma O’Shea.
“The new building will allow us to increase and diversify the impact of the School and reinforce it as a reference for culture and education in Madrid. In addition, we want it to be a meeting point with society, open to corporate events and collaboration with public administrations.”
O’Shea wanted to point out to Her Majesty that this year in June, at the Closing ceremony of the course, “we will have Sir András Schiff, who comes to the School every two years. Our orchestra will go on tour with him and will perform at the Granada Festival, the oldest music festival in Spain. We will perform in one of the wonderful corners that this city hides: the cloister of the Colegio Mayor Santa Cruz la Real. Schiff is one of the two principal conductors of the Freixenet Orchestra of the School. With the other, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who has already taken us around Europe, we are preparing our first American tour. On November 13, 2025, if everything goes as planned, we will be playing at Carnegie Hall”.
Proud of the milestones and achievements of the School, Paloma O’Shea wanted to highlight some of the great successes achieved by students and alumni of the center. “María Salvatori, from the Aline-Foriel Destezet Cello Chair, has won the Luigi Cerritelli Competition in Milan and the Affinity Quartet, the one in Melbourne. In addition, João Franzoso and Martina Bonaldo, from the BBVA Foundation Viola Chair, have won the competitions that give them the right to perform as soloists with important orchestras, such as the Baden-Baden Symphony Orchestra and the Brescia City Orchestra. Likewise, our alumni Francesco Stefanelli is the solo cello of the Verona Arena Orchestra; Javier Ayala, solo oboe of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig; Alberto Navarra, solo flute of the Tonhalle in Zurich; and Alexis Hatch, concertmaster of the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon”.
Subsequently, the General Director of the Reina Sofía School, Julia Sánchez, presented the ‘Strategic Plan of the School 2024/2028’ with the milestones and objectives to be worked on so that the institution continues to grow, both in its academic offer and in its social impact and international projection, with the horizon of the expansion of the School’s facilities to the adjoining building.
The members of the Board of Trustees also had the opportunity to attend the rehearsal of the School’s Baroque Ensemble on stage, which is part of the Société Générale Historical Interpretation Program. They met the director Paul Goodwin, and interacted with the young musicians of the formation.
The Board of Trustees of the Reina Sofía School is made up of a large group of personalities who represent the different sectors of society, committed to the educational and artistic work carried out by this center of international reference for the teaching of young musicians. This year Globant, with its co-founder and president, Martín Umaran; the Perez-Llorca law firm, with Pedro Pérez-Llorca Zamora; REDEIA with Beatriz Corredor and, in a personal capacity, Pablo Fernández, have joined the Board of Trustees.
