On 21 September, the Liceu Conservatory welcomed the new students on the official Master’s degree programmes in Higher Artistic Education in Music.
The event, which took place in the Conservatory’s Live Room, began with a musical performance by Master’s student Pol Requena, who played Ballade, Op. 6 by the composer Amy Beach. The student, who was a scholarship holder of the Ferrer Music Foundation, received the Extraordinary Prize in Classical and Contemporary Music Performance last academic year.
Next, it was the turn of Víctor Estapé, the Conservatory’s academic director, who welcomed the new students. In his address, the director highlighted the institution’s long history and the quality of its educational and artistic programmes, and outlined various aspects of the centre’s day-to-day running, the documentation available for consultation and the main channels of communication.
The second part of the welcome event took the students through an inspirational session aimed at their future careers. Through the talk ‘Professional Development in the Creative Industries’, Damián ‘Mich’ Micenmacher guided the new students in planning ahead and setting the course for the coming years.
This marks the start of a new academic year for the five Master’s programmes, which offer advanced training in the fields of Classical and Contemporary Music Performance, Jazz and Modern Music, Chamber Music, and Composition for Audiovisual and Performing Arts (the Master’s in Opera Performance will commence at a later date). Students will also take part in the conservatoire’s regular programme of activities, which includes a range of masterclasses and concerts featuring leading figures from the contemporary music scene, scheduled as part of the Liceu Jazz and Liceu Cambra series.
It is worth highlighting the diversity of nationalities among the enrolled students, who come from more than 20 countries around the world, including Portugal, Iceland, Georgia, Italy, China, Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Chile and the United States, amongst others. Among them are recipients of scholarships awarded by the Carolina Foundation, which each academic year enables many musicians from the Ibero-American Community of Nations to come and study music at the Liceu Conservatory. Also enrolled on the Master’s programmes are the winners of the scholarships offered by the Liceu Conservatory Foundation, which provide exceptional support to students with great musical talent so that they can develop their artistic abilities to the highest level.