Cartagena, Colombia – World-renowned artists gathered in the historic city of Cartagena, Colombia January 6-13 to perform masterworks of the chamber and solo repertoire as part of the recent Cartagena International Festival of Music, sponsored by the Victor Salvi Foundation (Colombia). Charles Wadsworth was the festival’s founding artistic director.

Throughout the week-long event, record numbers of concert-goers had the opportunity to hear magnificent music performed by such outstanding artists as Cyro Baptista, percussion; Jose Franch-Ballester, clarinet; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp; Wendy Chen, piano; Andres Diaz, cello; I Musici de Montreal, chamber orchestra; Romero Lubambo, guitar; Paula Robison, flute; St. Lawrence String Quartet; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; and Chee-Yun, piano, in historic venues throughout the city. The Plaza San Pedro Claver drew thousands of local residents and foreign visitors for each of the four late-night concerts.

In the coming years, the Victor Salvi Foundation (Colombia) plans to continue its role in supporting the arts in Colombia, particularly through its support for Batuta and the Plan Nacional de Musica para la Convivencia, two public programs that bring music programs to more than 50,000 children primarily from underprivileged backgrounds and rural areas affected by war. It will provide assistance to these and other worthwhile programs in their efforts to recruit more trained teachers and increase the number of musical instruments available to students.

In addition, the foundation plans to take a leadership role in expanding corporate support for the arts within the country and further professional development opportunities for the media covering the arts and culture.

To see highlights from the first Cartagena International Festival of Music please click here.