Fundación Sinfonía

The history of the Santo Domingo Music Festival begins in 1995 after a successful concert conducted by Maestro Philippe Entremont during his first visit to the Dominican Republic in more than 30 years. During that visit, Maestro Entremont discovered the new and brilliant profile of our modern city, endowed with a magnificent National Theater, a symphony orchestra full of possibilities and an audience avid of excellent presentations. Backing up the orchestra, Fundación Sinfonía, at that moment a young organization with great prestige, credibility and solidity, which was the motor from which emerged the intense musical activity in those days.

The idea of creating an international festival dedicated to classical music emerged from the brilliant mind of the French orchestra conductor and pianist. Without hesitation, the day after his concert, he presented the idea to the President of Sinfonía, Margarita Copello de Rodriguez and to her husband Pedro Rodríguez Villacaña, founder of Sinfonía, who welcomed the idea with enthusiasm.

The immediate task was to ensure the economic support that would allow the participation of first class music artists as well as create a great orchestra, the Festival Orchestra, with musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra and from other renowned orchestras from the United States and Europe. Entrepreneurs from some of the most important Dominican corporations were summoned by Sinfonía for the realization of the Santo Domingo Music Festival, a biennial event that would “place the Dominican Republic in the world map of Music”. With the support and orientation of a group of entrepreneurs that conformed the Superior Board of the Festival and Philippe Entremont as Artistic Director, Fundación Sinfonía presented the first Santo Domingo Music Festival from March 12 to 21, 1997 in the National Theater.

The seven editions of the festival, always celebrated in the month of March of 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009, were unprecedented successes that combined the presentation of international artists, a varied program of excellent taste, an accurate artistic direction and the most massive assistance ever achieved in classical concerts and presentations.

The jewel of the festivals has been its orchestra, a massive body of nearly 120 musicians. In the year 1999, we were honored by the presence of the strings from the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and in 2005 the turn was for the splendid Orquesta de Cadaqués. We have received musicians from other great European and American orchestras that have integrated admirably with the local ones. The National Symphony Orchestra has been the main beneficiary of these biennial celebrations.

The Santo Domingo Music Festival has been an authentic music feast.