13 Concerts, 10 Social Centers: Musethica Session across Zaragoza and Huesca, Spain

From November 16th to 22nd, Musethica Spain celebrated a new Musethica Session in Zaragoza, with some of the concerts also held in Huesca, thanks to collaboration with Fundación Ibercaja. In total, there were 13 concerts: 10 at social centers and 3 open to the public. These included a concert on November 19th at the Palacio de Villahermosa, the seat of Fundación Ibercaja in Huesca, a concert on November 21st at the Church of San Pablo (part of the Música en San Pablo cycle, in the historic center of the city), and the final concert of the session on November 22nd at the Sala Luis Galve of the Auditorio de Zaragoza.

The young musicians who participated in the session were Mălina Ciobanu (Romania) on the violin and Junkyung Kang (South Korea) on the viola. They were accompanied by their tutor, Erica Wise (USA), on the violoncello. The repertoire for the session featured works by Missy Mazzoli, Kurtág György, Ernő Dohnányi, and Beethoven.

Aurora, a teacher at the Torre Ramona school, where the first two concerts were held, initially had doubts about whether this type of music would motivate the children. However, after the concerts, she commented, "It is not the type of music that matters; it is what the music communicates. And if the musician is able to transmit that message, the objective is achieved. And here, that has been the case."

The social centers that collaborated with Musethica during this week included CEIP Torre Ramona (2 groups), Centro Socio-Laboral Valdefierro, the Residence and Day Care Center Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Ozanam, Kindergarten La Bolandrina, the San Nicolás accompaniment project by Cáritas, the Hemodialysis Unit at the Centro de Especialidades Médicas Inocencio Jiménez, and the Hemodialysis Unit at the Hospital Miguel Servet, all in Zaragoza. In Huesca, the Manuel Artero Center of the Valentia Foundation (for people with mental disabilities) and the ASPACE Foundation Center (for people with physical disabilities) also participated.

This session was part of the project ‘1000+ Concerts: Innovating Higher Music Education through Social Inclusion’ co-funded by the European Union.

The recording of the public concert is now accessible on YouTube and here below. Enjoy!