Two members of the Amarillo College music faculty and about a dozen students from Amarillo, most of whom attend AC or study in AC's Suzuki Program, recently visited Spain to participate at the Ávila International Music Festival.
The festival, from June 22-30, was co-directed by Dr. Diego Caetano, director of piano and faculty performance at Amarillo College, and Spanish clarinetist David Jimenez Ramos.
Also featured among the festival’s renowned faculty was Camille Day Nies, violinist and chair of AC’s Music Department. The event featured group instruction, private lessons, lectures and concerts.
Among the highlights was an opportunity for students to perform at Ávila’s historic Auditório San Francisco, a former church from the 14th century that now serves as a concert hall.
“It was a very successful festival,” Caetano said. “We had a total of about 30 students who came from the U.S., Brazil, Russia, France and the Philippines.
“I know that our students from Amarillo College enjoyed the opportunity to share not only their music, but their cultural differences and similarities with students from those other countries.”
Caetano said he also appreciated the chance he and Nies had to perform Brahms’ Piano Quintet alongside others among the festival faculty.
“That was a real treat for me,” he said.
For information about the music programs at Amarillo College, call 806-371-5340 or visit actx.edu/music.
-Amarillo College
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