Santander, October 9, 2020.- This morning, the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Santander Musical Studies Center, which coordinates all the programs promoted by the Albéniz Foundation in Cantabria, took place in the capital of Cantabria: the Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition and, this year, the special program of the “Reencuentro” cycle.
What would have been the XX edition of the Santander Music and Academy Encounter during July 2020 could not be held 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 to promote culture and the learning of young musicians, organized a special program that included various activities.
“It was not exactly a Music and Academy Encounter, because we had to adapt and reduce everything and that is why we gave it another name, but it was a very important cycle, with 20 live concerts, 4 of them also broadcast in streaming, 8 recitals remotely, given by young people from their countries of origin, and we were also able to organize a significant academic part, with 9 top-level professors -as always- who gave online classes to young people from all over Europe”, argued the president of the Albéniz Foundation, Paloma O’Shea.
At this meeting, the Activity Plan developed during the 2019-2020 academic year and a preview of the current 2020-2021 academic year, which is marked by the health pandemic and the great uncertainty of covid-19, have been presented.
“We are heading, surely, towards a great crisis. In times of scarcity, it is key to strengthen the bonds that lead us to want to live together and share burdens and hopes. In this difficult future that we have, we must continue to organize concerts, the more the better, because they are shared emotional experiences that make society”, Paloma O’Shea highlighted.
Thinking about that near future, “in Cantabria we aspire to be able to celebrate the 20th edition of the Encounter: invite former students of the Encounter, now leading musicians, and resume the visit of the great British composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who we have commissioned to compose a work specifically for that occasion”.
Likewise, Doña Paloma O’Shea has informed those present of the good progress of the Tour of Award Winners of the Santander International Piano Competition.
“I am very happy with the progress of our First Prize winner, the Ukrainian Dmytro Choni. The album that corresponded to him as the winner has already been released by the Naxos label and you cannot imagine the wonderful reviews it is receiving in specialized international magazines. The cancellations due to the coronavirus, generalized throughout the world, have greatly reduced the tours, but, even so, we have been able to organize many concerts for Dmytro and for the second and third prize winners, Yutong Sun and Aleksandr Kliuchko, as well as for Juan Carlos Fernández Nieto, who won the Audience Award”.
In addition, Paloma O’Shea announced that the registration period for the 2022 Piano Competition will open in April, which will also be number 20 and will coincide with the 50th anniversary of its own creation, in 1972.
To conclude, the President of the Albéniz Foundation has thanked the Government of Cantabria, the Santander City Council and, in general, the public and private institutions involved in these activities, for their constant support in the development of cultural programs, ratifying the importance of Santander as a musical capital that contributes to the training and promotion of young artists, and that favors the creation of new audiences.
“Overall, it has been a year full of unexpected obstacles, but we have been able to overcome it thanks to the support of everyone. In addition, it has served to show the strength of character of all of you who make up the Albéniz Foundation and the solidity of the creative vocation of our musicians”.
The Board of Trustees of the Center for Musical Studies has S.M.A. Infanta Doña Margarita de Borbón as Honorary President. The President of the Board of Trustees is Paloma O’Shea and its members, representing Public Institutions, are: Miguel Ángel Revilla, President of the Government of Cantabria; Pablo Zuloaga, Vice President and Minister of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports of the Government of Cantabria; Marina Lombó, Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Tourism of the Government of Cantabria; Gema Igual, Mayor of the Santander City Council; María Luz Morán, Magnificent Rector of the Menéndez Pelayo International University; and Ángel Pazos, Magnificent Rector of the University of Cantabria.
Representing Private Institutions: Miguel Antoñanzas, President of Viesgo; Charo Baqué, CEO of Grupo Dromedario; Santiago Díaz, President of Grupo Empresarial SADISA, S.L.; Javier González Portilla, President of Grupo Tirso; Roberto González Portilla, CEO of Grupo Tirso; Mariano Linares, Honorary President of Editorial Cantabria; Modesto Piñeiro García-Lago, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Cantabria; and Julia Sánchez Abeal, CEO of the Albéniz Foundation.
Also, on a personal basis, the following belong to the Board of Trustees: Elena García Botín, Manuel Huerta Castillo, Annelies Kaufmann and Rafael Segura Báez.
Álvaro Guibert acts as Secretary of Minutes.
