Contemporary Music Festival in Havana

Havana will soon be the world music capital as the 29th Contemporary Music Festival is scheduled to run Nov 12/20 as a window to showcase international and Cuban music.

As the festival’s 29th edition is a window to check what’s going on in the world in the music scene and Cuban music production, musicians from the United States, Germany, Spain, Chile, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Switzerland and Cuba have confirmed their participation. Venues include Havana’s Fine Arts Museum, the Minor Basilica of San Francis of Assisi Concert Hall, the National Theater, the Casa de las Américas cultural institution, the San Felipe Neri Concert Hall, Casa del Alba Cultural, the National Lyrical Theater headquarters and Havana’s Grand Theater Alicia Alonso.

Sponsored by the Cuban Writers and Artists Association –UNEAC- , the gathering is scheduled to welcome renowned orchestra director and composer Boris Alvarado from Chile, Swiss flautist Antipe da Stella and American Composers Forum, Third Sound and Cascadia Composers from the United States. The event’s agenda includes lectures, master classes and talks, music will also be played out of music halls and theaters and is set to take to the streets in front of the Palace of the Captain Generals with the National Concert Band performing on November 8th.

The Second Colloquium “Nostalgy for the Future” will run paralell to the gathering at Rubén Martínez Villena hall of the Cuban Writers and Artists Association, UNEAC, from November 14th to 18th providing a space for debate of current trends and experiences in contemporary music. The music event is dedicated to the anniversaries of the birth of prestigious Cuban musicians Alejandro García Caturla (1906-1940), César Pérez Sentenat (1896-1973) and Isaac Nicola (1916-1997).