From the 28th of June to the 4th of July, Berta Ballesté, Pol Cabrera, Sofia Craveiro and Nabil Sarrate, saxophone students at the Conservatori Liceu, travelled to Colombia with their teacher, Albert Julià, to take part in performances and educational projects in different parts of the Latin American country.
The tour began with the Bellas Artes Cali International Saxophone Festival, organised by the Faculty of Music of the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory, part of the Bellas Artes Institución Universitaria del Valle de Cali. On the 28th of June, the quartet gave a concert in the school’s chamber music hall and, the following day, shared the stage in the Beethoven Hall with the Colombian saxophonist Esneider Valencia. In parallel, maestro Albert Julià performed as a soloist with the Colombian group Ensemble 314, offered master classes and has also been part of the jury of the II Latin American Saxophone Competition.
To continue, as part of the Conservatori Liceu’s collaboration agreement with the University of Caldas, the musicians travelled to Manizales, where they carried out academic and musical activities with students and professors of the Faculty of Arts of this institution and of the Departmental Programme of Student Bands of Caldas.
As a conclusion to this collaboration, the Conservatori Liceu Saxophone Quartet and its conductor performed in a joint concert of traditional Colombian music repertoire with students and teachers of the Caldas Departmental Band Programme and the University.
It is essential to highlight that one of the most significant elements of the Caldes Departmental Student Band Programme is the social sphere, as it has managed to distance students from psychosocial risks and improve skills in different disciplines of knowledge. For this reason, the Fundació Conservatori Liceu considers important to promote and contribute to cooperation projects such as the one carried out by the four students of the Centre Superior and their teacher with the aim of progressing through music towards a more open and cohesive society.
Finally, the Conservatori Liceu Saxophone Quartet and Albert Julià tour ended with a concert organised by the Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Bogotá. On the 4th of July, the four members of the ensemble gave a concert at the Centro de Acontecimientos Hall 74 in Bogotá. The event was attended by the General Director of the Conservatori Liceu Foundation, Maria Serrat, and by the Dean of the School of Arts of the Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Julían Montaña.
These activities are part of the programme of Collaboration with Ibero-America that the Conservatori Liceu Foundation has been establishing for the last 20 years with entities from new countries in the region. Since 2001, the Conservatori Liceu Foundation has maintained collaboration agreements with twenty-five universities and educational institutions in Colombia with the aim of promoting and supporting Colombian talent. The educational activities carried out are intended to strengthen relations between the Conservatori Liceu Foundation and the various Colombian host educational centres, as well as fostering cultural exchange among the musicians who took part.