In the wake of the success of the first year of Música Cercana in 2024, the Reina Sofía School of Music and Redeia, the essential energy and telecommunications infrastructure operator, have joined forces again to take classical music to specific areas of rural Spain. This year, the series of free concerts will visit four Spanish towns, where they will give unique performances that are full of talent, heritage and culture. 

The project is designed to promote classical music in areas with little access to this type of cultural event, and the performers will be talented young musicians who study at the prestigious Reina Sofía School of Music. These performances will take place in symbolic buildings in the selected towns, such as historical churches, central squares and local theatres, ensuring an unforgettable experience for the audiences.

The students will introduce and explain the pieces to enhance listeners’ understanding and appreciation of the music. This programme will enable the public to enjoy the musicians’ talents while boosting the performers’ careers by providing an opportunity to perform outside of conventional cultural venues.

Concerts and workshops that connect culture and territory

The concerts will begin in March and continue until June, visiting the towns of Cariñena (Zaragoza) on 22 March, Piélagos (Cantabria) on 23 May, Manzanares (Ciudad Real) on 30 May, and Medina de Rioseco (Valladolid) on 6 June. Entrance to all these concerts is free, reinforcing the inclusive nature of this initiative.

The tour includes workshops that use virtual reality to provide an immersive experience created by the Reina Sofía School of Music, during which participants discover works by three master composers (Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Respighi), accompanied by a mediation session with a musicologist and educator who contextualises the composers’ works and relates them to emotions—joy, sadness, surprise...

Around fifty people will benefit from these workshops in each town. To take part, applicants must register by following the procedure (specific to each town), either by email or by completing the online form.

The Música Cercana tour is part of Redeia's commitment to sustainable development and the revitalisation of rural areas and falls within its Integral Impact Strategy, which sets out to improve the lives of those who live in the territories that house its infrastructures. Meanwhile, the Reina Sofía School of Music forges proactive alliances with relevant, prestigious organisations and institutions to carry out and spread its mission to bring music to society.

Schedule in Cariñena (Zaragoza)

The first concert will take place on Saturday, 22 March at 19.00 pm in the Iglesia Parroquial La Asunción de Ntra. Señora de Cariñena church. The performance will feature the Reina Sofía School of Music String Quartet, whose members are young musicians Cecilia Novella and David Martínez (violin); Semin Yim (viola) and Célia Garetti (violoncello).

They will perform two great works from the chamber music repertoire, namely Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major, K. 458 and String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80, composed by Felix Mendelssohn. Entrance is free until capacity is reached.

On Sunday, 23 March, at 11.30 and 12.30, there will be two sessions of the virtual reality workshop in the old Cariñena Town Hall. If you would like to take part in this free activity, please register on the website www.carinena.es.