estival Internacional de Música San Miguel de Allende, formerly known as the Chamber Music Festival, is celebrating its 39th season by hosting a fundraising event on March 18, in honor of Barbara Bladen Porter. This event is the first annual Salute to Excellence, featuring choral music and honoring a San Miguel resident who has contributed to the community.

 We are pleased to have Barbara Bladen Porter as our first honoree. Barbara has long served the Festival as a patron and board member, as well as numerous other organizations such as Opera San Miguel and Casa. Before coming to San Miguel she has had a distinguished career in San Francisco as a drama critic.

 This event also launches the Festival’s intent to establish a series of choral music concerts under the directions of John Goodwin. John is a resident of San Miguel and New York City, who led the New York Choral Society for 25 years. He is currently directing the Bellas Artes Opera Chorus in Mexico City in multiple concerts throughout the year. We are thrilled to have him join us in this effort to bring excellent choral music to San Miguel. Tickets for the Salute to Excellence event are available at $100 USD. RSVP by e-mail to: festivaldemusica.sma@gmail.com

Another exciting happening to take place at this event is the unveiling of the painting to be used as the Festival image for 2017. The artist behind the painting is the prominent painter Edgar Soberón. Edgar was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba in 1962. He and his family immigrated to Madrid, Spain in 1973 to later settle permanently in New York. Soberón was awarded a scholarship in 1983 to study at Parsons School of Design in New York, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1987. In the fall of 2009, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL organized the exhibition, Movements in Stillness: The Still Life Paintings of Edgar Soberón, which brought together a selection of more than forty paintings and prints from the last decade. Since 2002 Soberón lives and works in the town of San Miguel de Allende, Gto. Mexico. He has donated this painting to the Festival and it will be offered for sale through our Festival dates.

The 39th Annual Festival Internacional de Música de San Miguel de Allende takes place August 4-26. Among the artists scheduled to perform are Meccore Quartet, Dover Quartet, Daedalus Quartet, Ensamble Tamayo, Alfredo Muro and Eroica Piano Trio. The entire program consists of 11 concerts and 3 lectures.  Please visit www.festivalsanmiguel.com for more information.