Each year during the month of July, the Santander Encounter of Music and Academy brings great international masters from the world of music together with tomorrow’s up-and-coming talents and, in turn, joins all of them with the public. It is the Encounter’s artistic director, orchestra director Péter Csaba, who chooses every participant by means of auditions held at the most prestigious schools in Europe. In Santander, about sixty of these young people work in the morning with teachers in masterclasses and rehearsals, and then share the stage with them in the afternoon in a series of very special concerts, where the experience of one and the energy of the other combine to produce music of extraordinary intensity. The Encounter pays travel and accommodation expenses for the participants, who also receive artistic help for their concert performances. Big names in international composition, such as John Corigliano, Sofia Gubaidulina, Luis de Pablo, Krzysztof Penderecki and Péter Eötvös, have been resident composers at the Encounter. Additionally, the last two have taken on a dual role, adding direction of the opening concert to their work as composers/directors.
