Music Department

As part of its endeavours to contribute to fostering culture at its highest levels of expression, the Prince of Asturias Foundation created a Music Department in 1983 which was to give rise, one year later, to the Choir. With the passing of time and thanks to the effort of its conductors and members, it has achieved well-deserved national and international prestige and has become one of the most important amateur choirs in Europe. In December 2007, the European Parliament distinguished the Choir with an extraordinary acknowledgement "for its outstanding services to the European Union".

As part of the ongoing mission of this initiative to harvest the traditional love of Asturians for choral music at its highest level through constant educational undertakings, the Youth Choir was created in 1988 and the Children’s Choir in 1990. The three choirs have served as a platform for training hundreds of voices and for keeping alive the close relation that Asturias has always had with music.

In 1992, the work of dissemination and enjoyment of classical music was reinforced by the creation of a concert cycle called the Music Week, which is held on the days prior to the Prince of Asturias Awards presentation ceremony. This initiative aims to bring cultural activities to the villages, towns and stages of Asturias in which it is not easy to enjoy music.

More recently, the International Music Scholl was created to consolidate a project initiated in 1990 with the relocation to Asturias –under the auspices of the Foundation– of the permanent residence of the Chamber Orchestra "The Moscow Virtuosi". Classes are taught by a distinguished teaching staff, while the School includes among its visiting professors some of the most celebrated musicians worldwide, some of whom have been Prince of Asturias Award laureates, thus making the School different to any other existing in Spain.

The Prince of Asturias Foundation Music Department includes among its honorary conductors the maestros, Jesús López Cobos and Krzysztof Penderecki, Prince of Asturias Award Laureates for the Arts in 1981 and 2001, respectively.

©Copyright 2008 Prince of Asturias Foundation