The Alfredo de Saint-Malo Music Festival of Panamá (ASM) is an initiative of Panamanian Cellist Isaac Casal Rodríguez, a member of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and  a graduate student at Baylor University, Texas. The Festival is supported by the Music Department at Baylor, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) of Panamá, the Orquesta Juvenil Istmeña of Panama, the National Concert Association (ANC) of Panama, the University of Panama, and the National Institute of Culture of Panama.

This week-long activity will include concerts and recitals by local and guest artists, the NSO of Panama, the Orquesta Juvenil Istmeña and the NCA Music Camp Orchestra. It will also feature a series of master classes, lectures, workshops, private lessons, and didactic concerts which will benefit hundreds of young musicians and about 5,000 of school children in the Republic of Panama.

The Festival is designed to promote music education, appreciation, and performance in Panama, where these opportunities for young musicians are quite limited.

Featured Artists
Baylor University, committed to the education and development of music, will sponsor master classes and workshops and is in charge of an eight-member faculty team featuring the Baylor String Quartet, the cello, violin, and piano trio. From the University of Miami, Misha Dadic (piano). Locals Isaac Casal (cello), Sofia Almanza (bassoon), Luis Casal (Violin), Graciela Nunes (Violin), and Samuel Robles (conductor and composer), among others, complete the Festival’s faculty.

Concerts
All concerts and recitals will be offered at no cost and open to all public. The Festival will also include didactic concerts at public schools, where some 5,000 children will be able to listen to live chamber music from the Festival’s faculty.

Your support is key
The cost for the festival is estimated in US$100,000, without considering the generous support offered by the Department of Music at Baylor. Patronage opportunities in Panama are as limited as education and performance opportunities for musicians. Still, young players and composers work every day toward a professional career in music. Some have managed to earn advanced graduate degrees, orchestra positions, and Fulbright Scholarships, among other distinctions. We could achieve much more with your support, always keeping in mind that our commitment with education and outreach programs should be the keystone to any developing arts community. For more information about donations, please visit the Support section.