The Abu Dhabi Music &Arts Foundation (ADMAF) announced its support for the prestigious Reina Sofía School of Music’s Freixenet Symphony Orchestra as it begins its first-ever European tour. The support is part of the School’s cultural partner, Abu Dhabi Festival (ADF),whose collaboration with the School is as per an agreement to collaboratively support intercultural exchange through classical music and the performing arts, signed between the two parties over 6 years ago.
Participating in the press conference to announce the tour,H.E. Huda I. Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival said, “We are proud to support the Reina Sofía School of Music’s Freixenet Orchestra in its first-ever European tour. In our ongoing partnership with the Reina Sofia School of Music, the orchestra’s tour reflects our shared mission to cultivate artistic talent and allow the boundless potential of the youth to emerge”.
“The orchestra’s European tour will be marked by the energy and elegance of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada and leading violin soloist Arabella Steinbacher. As the people of the world continue to face the difficulties of the pandemic, it brings me great joy for Abu Dhabi Festival and the Reina Sofía School of Music to collaborate once again and bring live performance to stages across Europe,” H.E. added
Thanks to the backing and support of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, it is the first time in the Reina Sofía School of Music’s history that its Freixenet Symphony Orchestra gives a performance tour in four of Europe’s most prestigious musical centres.
Marking the 30th anniversary of the School, Freixenet Symphony Orchestra will perform in Madrid, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna, and play ‘El Puerto’ from the work Iberia by Isaac Albéniz, the Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19 by Serguéi Prokofiev and the Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 by Antonín Dvořák.
Paloma O’Shea, Founder and Current Principal of the distinguished Reina Sofía School of Music, said ““We are turning 30 years old and for that reason, we took our Freixenet Orchestra on a tour of Europe. For our students, playing in such prestigious venues and, above all, sharing the stage with Arabella Steinbacher and maestro Andrés Orozco-Estrada will be an unforgettable experience. Arabella is, as we all know, one of the great violinists of our time, and I am looking forward to seeing what she is capable of doing with Prokofiev’s First Concerto, which requires perfect technique and deep sensitivity. In addition, we are very grateful to Abu Dhabi Festival for accompanying the Reina Sofía School in its anniversary and making possible with its sponsorship the tour that our Freixenet Orchestra begins tomorrow”.
The mission of the School’sorchestra is to be both an instrument of education and culture. As a cultural entity, it endeavours to bring the orchestral repertoire of different periods and styles closer to everyone from a new perspective. As an educational tool, the orchestra provides training and experience to the students of the Reina Sofía School in the discipline of orchestral performance.
Abu Dhabi Festival is supported by its Lead Partner Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) and the Energy Partner GS Energy.
