How was your 2021? There are only a few days until New Year’s Eve, and this is the typically time of the year to look back and make a report about what happened in the last twelve months. Covid related issues continue to be in everybody’s thoughts: during 2021 we also faced difficulties in organizing events and in traveling, but in the second half of the year, we finally saw things changed, returning to travel and to meet in person again.
Nevertheless, here six stunning successes we were able to achieve this year!
1. Auditions at Mozarteum Salzburg
Not only we could manage to set up auditions to enroll new musicians, but we were also able to organize it abroad: it was held in one of the very centers of music in Europe, Salzburg’s Mozarteum. They were scheduled on 15 and 16 July, and 50 musicians (playing string instruments, oboe, horn and bassoon) coming from 23 different countries sent their candidature to take part. At the end of the auditions, 12 musicians from 13 different countries were invited to join Theresia!
Read more about our 2021 auditions in an interesting interview with our artistic director Mario Martinoli.
2. A night at the Opera!
Actually, an entire week: since our projects are mainly devoted to symphonic and chamber music, it was thrilling to be part of an opera production. Concerto Theresia, our alumni orchestra, performed Mattheson’s Boris Goudenow under the baton of Andrea Marchiol last August. Everybody was enthusiast about the experience, and it was a success with audiences and critics: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s music reviewer wrote that “the Ensemble Concerto Theresia under the baton of Andrea Marchiol makes the rich and virtuosic music from both vocal and instrumental points of view flourish in all its colours”.
3. Discovering hidden gems in Geneva
We were in Geneva last summer with nine musicians from Theresia Orchestra for a chamber music project held by Chiara Banchini and Alfredo Bernardini. Some true musical jewels by Cambini, Canabich, Boccherini, Michael Haydn and Johann Christian Bach were unveiled to the audience of Festival Les Concerts d’Été à Saint Germain in two concerts, on 22 and 23 August.
Find more in this detailed interview with conductor and oboist Alfredo Bernardini.
4. Some round figures from the residency in Lodi
The concert held on 27 November in Lodi was our 60th, and the residency was the 30th. Something to be proud of! Plus, residency in Lodi was the first orchestral project after Covid started, and the very first for musicians enrolled in the last auditions. Definitely, there’s a lot to celebrate! The orchestra was conducted by Alfredo Bernardini, supported by Gemma Longoni as a tutor of 29 musicians from 20 different countries. And, the residency was the chance for a whole series of initiatives in addition to the concert. Find out more here.
5. Meeting with our counterparts from all over Europe
REMA (Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne) is the most extensive network for Early Music in Europe, with a membership of 130 organizations in 23 countries.
Theresia joined Rema this year and in September, our team took part in a conference that brought together more than 30 representatives of musical institutions from all over Europe: the first live event after the Covid emergency started!
Read more about our experience here.
6. A thrilling breakthrough!
Last but not least….. a 3-years grant has been awarded to Theresia Orchestra by the Creative Europe Programme to develop excellence in orchestral learning and soft skills acquisition by our young artistic talents. That is, Theresia Orchestra enters today in the group of the leading European youth orchestras, together with EUYO – The European Union Youth Orchestra and other few acknowledged ensembles. This is a deserved international recognition of the work done by Theresia over the past 9 years and the beginning of a new exciting era for our orchestra!
The project is called EMPOWER and it will be coordinated by ICONS. This is a huge milestone that will allow Theresia to complete the pathway towards the creation of a truly pan-European orchestra, unique in addressing the classical repertoire on period instruments. EMPOWER will design and implement activities fostering the artistic excellence of young talented musicians Furthermore, it will make this artistic legacy accessible to the whole society.
To read more about the further development of Theresia, stay tuned!
