Presentation

Every year, in July, the city of Santander and Cantabria, in the north of Spain, host the Santander Music and Academy Encounter. 

This project, promoted by the Government of Cantabria and the Albéniz Foundation, organized by the Reina Sofía School of Music with the collaboration of the City of Santander and various sponsors, and under the artistic direction of Márta Gulyás and Luis Fernando Pérez, brings together great international musicians and teachers with a select group of young talents from around the world, selected through auditions.

With all travel, accommodation and daily allowances covered by the organization, the students enjoy master classes with their teachers and an intense calendar of rehearsals and concerts. The city of Santander and various towns in Cantabria become the stage for more than sixty concerts in which students and great maestros share their music. A musical festival, an academy of world excellence and a unique experience for its students.

The XXIV edition of the Encounter will be held from July 2 to 27, 2025.

The center is located at the Jesús de Monasterio Conservatory in the city of Santander. Chamber music and orchestral ensembles are the fundamental axes in the academic philosophy of the Encounter, highlighting the formative value of music as a collective work and encouraging the encounter between teachers and students.

At the Academy, guest maestros and students work side by side, whether in individual master classes, chamber music classes, rehearsals or in the preparation of specific or interdisciplinary projects. The teachers guide the chamber music work of the groups, integrating themselves as one of them, and then sharing the stage, which is an essential part of the teaching at the Academy and at the Encounter.

During the month of July, the city of Santander, in the Argenta and Pereda halls of the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, in the Paraninfo of Las Llamas and in the Santa Lucía church, along with various emblematic spaces in more than twenty towns in Cantabria, host more than sixty concerts.

These concerts, the result of the work of the Academy, bring together students and teachers in various chamber music projects and orchestral ensembles, as well as in solo recitals, where they meet with the warm audience of Cantabria. The selection of repertoire, always innovative and varied, is the responsibility of the artistic direction in collaboration with the guest musicians.

In some editions, the Encounter has a resident composer who personally presents his compositions both to the participants and to the audience. Great names in international composition, such as John Corigliano, Sofia Gubaidulina, Luis de Pablo, Krzysztof Penderecki and Péter Eötvös, have been composers-in-residence at the Encounter.

In its 2025 edition, the Encounter will feature Maestro Heinz Holliger as composer-in-residence, who will present his works to the participants and the audience. In addition, Maestro Holliger, together with Maestro Péter Csaba, will participate as guest conductors of the orchestral ensembles.

The Board of Trustees of the Isaac Albéniz Centre for Musical Studies in Santander is the highest governing body for the two activities of the Albéniz Foundation in the Cantabrian capital: the Santander Music and Academy Encounter and the Santander International Piano Competition. It is made up of representatives from leading Cantabrian institutions and entities who, with your support, make this project possible.

President of Honour

H.R.H. Infanta Doña Margarita de Borbón, Duquesa de Soria

President

Paloma O'Shea

Representing Public Institutions

María José Sáenz de Buruaga, President of the Government of Cantabria

Luis Martínez Abad, Counsellor of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Government of  Cantabria

Sergio Silva, Counsellor of Education, Professional Training and Universities of the Government of Cantabria

Gema Igual, Mayor of Santander

Carlos Andradas Heranz, Dean of the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo

Ángel Pazos, Dean of the Universidad de Cantabria

Representing Private Institutions

Vanda Martins, General Director of Fundación EDP

Charo Baqué, CEO of Grupo Dromedario

Santiago Díaz, President of Grupo Empresarial SADISA, S.L.

Manuel Iturbe, Territorial Director of Banco Santander in Cantabria and Asturias

Javier González Portilla, President of Grupo Tirso

Roberto González Portilla, CEO of Grupo Tirso

Mariano Linares, Honorary President of Editorial Cantabria

Alfredo Pérez, Co-president of Grupo PITMA

Tomás Dasgoas, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Cantabria

Julia Sánchez Abeal, CEO of the Fundación Albéniz

On an Individual Basis

Elena García Botín

Annelies Kaufmann

Manuel Huerta

Rafael Segura

Secretary

Álvaro Guibert