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Encounter of Santander
H.M. Queen Sofía presides over the Closing Ceremony of the 2023-2024 Academic Year of the Reina Sofía School of Music
Madrid, 18 June 2024. – This afternoon, the Closing Ceremony for the 2023-2024 Academic Year of the Reina Sofía School of Music and the presentation of the institution's awards took place in Auditorium 400 of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, presided over by Her Majesty Queen Sofía. This year's ceremony also commemorated the Tenth Anniversary of the Proclamation of His Majesty King Felipe VI.
The event began with a speech by Paloma O’Shea, Founding President of the School, in which she reviewed the significant activities of this high-level training centre over the past year.
"I appreciate the presence of Ángeles González Sinde, President of the Board of Trustees of the Museo Reina Sofía, which hosts us, and Paz Santa Cecilia, Director General of INAEM, from the Ministry of Culture, which has provided us with the magnificent building adjacent to ours on Requena Street. Architects Cruz and Ortiz are already working on the renovation project, which will enable the School to take a new step forward, collaborating with other institutions and consolidating Plaza de Oriente as a cultural hub, alongside the Teatro Real, the Royal Palace, and the Royal Collections Gallery."
"If the School ranks among the top centres in Europe and is, therefore, an attractive partner for these collaborations, it is thanks to the commitment of the School's patrons and its educational model, which has been steadfastly maintained since its founding: personalised teaching, an intense master-disciple relationship, extending the classroom to the stage, and a strong focus on ensemble music. The result of this model is the musicality that distinguishes our nearly one thousand alumni, who perform on stages around the world."
Next, Her Majesty Queen Sofía awarded Diplomas to the most outstanding students in the following disciplines: violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, piano, voice, composition, and chamber music (string quartets, wind quartets, and piano groups).
Following this, Queen Sofía presented the School's Plaques for their decisive contribution to professors Juliane Banse (Voice Chair “Alfredo Kraus” Fundación Ramón Areces), Wies de Boevé (Double Bass Chair Unidad Editorial), and Simon Halsey (Choral Chair); as well as to Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Founder of the Fundación Cisneros and the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, one of the School's first collaborators through her Mozarteum Venezuela Foundation, and later a promoter of the Sinfonietta and a member of the International Circle of the School since its inception in 2015.
Additionally, the Honorary Medal, the highest distinction awarded by the School and crafted by sculptor Julio López Hernández, was presented for their outstanding collaboration with the institution to: Maestro Ivan Monighetti, professor of the Cello Chair Aline Foriel-Destezet; the Casals and Quiroga quartets, founded within the School in 1997 and 2003 respectively under the initial sponsorship of Fundación Prosegur; and the recently deceased Péter Eötvös, who was an advisor to the Sinfonietta, conducted the School's orchestra on several occasions, and was a resident composer at the Santander Encounter of Music and Academy.
The ceremony concluded with a concert by the Freixenet Orchestra of the Reina Sofía School, conducted by Maestro Sir András Schiff, featuring a repertoire that included Johann S. Bach's Concerto for Harpsichord, Strings, and Continuo in F minor BWV 1056 (version for piano and orchestra) and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian."
VIII Meeting of the International Circle of the Reina Sofía School
Before the closing ceremony of the academic year, the VIII Annual Meeting of the International Circle of the Reina Sofía School of Music took place, presided over by H.M. Queen Sofía.
This body, created in 2015 with the aim of promoting the School internationally and consolidating the support of a group of patrons from around the world, ensures that the high-level music training centre continues to be a borderless project. In addition to financing the education of young musicians, the members of the Circle act as ambassadors for the School in their respective countries.
Currently, it is composed of 32 members who contribute up to 8.5% of the School's annual budget.