Dear Friend,

Today, we bring to your inbox the highlights of the VII New Docta International Music Festival. By all accounts, this 7th edition, which took place from August 27th to September 7th in Argentina, was a complete success. We are so joyful with this year’s outcomes and cannot wait to share some of the most special moments with you.

So please read on, check out some snapshots of the most thrilling and heartwarming minutes in Cordoba and Buenos Aires, and re-live the excitement of the festival together with all of our friends, partners, donors, and sponsors. We couldn't have done it without you!

Concerts

This year, we had the honor to present two outstanding international guests: Sandeep Das, classical tabla virtuoso and composer, and Vasko Dukovski, clarinetist, multidisciplinary artist and composer, as well as the first New Docta Fellowship recipient, pianist Audrey Vardanega.

New Docta played three concerts that captivated audiences. In Buenos Aires, we performed for the first time at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Co-Founders Sami, Yves, and Solange were invited as honorary guests to perform at the Kirchner Cultural Center in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Armenian composer Komitas, in partnership with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). In Córdoba, New Docta returned for its closing concert to the iconic Teatro del Libertador, in all of its newly renovated splendor, with all proceeds going to the Santisima Trinidad Children’s Municipal Hospital.

New Docta and international guest artists at the Closing Concert in Córdoba

Concert in conmemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Armenian composer Komitas at the Kirchner Cultural Center

Visits to Children's Hospitals

With open hearts and caring music, we once again visited the Garrahan Hospital in Buenos Aires and the Santísima Trinidad Children's Hospital in Cordoba. Building upon year after year, we use the healing power of music to bring joy to sick children and their families. What we love most about this activity is the happiness that fills the air when we see the cheerful faces of children and adults glow as our music carries through the hallways and hospital lobbies. This is definitely one of the most touching activities of the festival.

Yves and Solange interact with a patient at the Garrahan Hospital.

Children and adults enjoy a concert in the Santísima Trinidad Children's Hospital lobby.

Schools to the Theater!

True to the core of our mission to inspire children, we organized our trademark "Schools to the Theater!" events in partnership with the provincial ministries of education. We reached over 1200 singing, dancing, and cheering students, ages 6-13, in both Cordoba and Buenos Aires. Through games, stories, and other fun activities, our music connects with the children in a way that makes them jump out of their seats in excitement! We hope to have awoken a curiosity for music that will last a lifetime. Of particular note, most of these children in the audience are coming to the theater to experience live music for the first time.

New Docta and International Artists performing during "Schools to the Theater!" in Buenos Aires

Full House at Teatro del Libertador in Cordoba for "Schools to the Theater!"

Master Classes, Private Lessons, and Clinics

At New Docta, we pride ourselves in the work we do with aspiring music students. This year, we offered master classes and private lessons to more than 200 university and conservatory students. Working up close with our 6 distinguished artists, music students had the opportunity to perform and learn valuable technique and artistry that will push them further along in their chosen paths.

In Buenos Aires, we worked with students from Orquesta Violeta Parra in a rhythm and orchestral clinic. What progress they've made in one year's time! In Córdoba, we offered master classes and private lessons at the Provincial University of Córdoba (UPC) and, for the first time, with the Orquesta Academica Juvenil, Cordoba's finest youth orchestra, who were learning Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony. For these students, interacting with a world-renowned expert is an exceptional opportunity that has an immense impact on their music careers.

Clinic with Students from Orquesta Violeta Parra (above). Master classes and private lessons (below)

Orquesta Escuela Mediterránea

For a fifth year, we continued our partnership with the Orquesta Mediterranea, an El Sistema-style program that provides music-making experience to vulnerable children. Working with the same students over the years allows us to see how much their music skills have grown -- they were working on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony! We closed the day with a mini-concert featuring lively songs and works. We feel extremely loved and appreciated each time we visit and cannot wait to be back next year!

Sami and Yves working with Orquesta Mediterranea.

We loved the t-shirts we received from the Orquesta Escuela Mediterránea and couldn't wait to wear them for our mini-concert.

Music and Sports

In what has been our biggest turnout yet, close to 1,000 children participated in our popular "Music and Sports" program in Buenos Aires and Cordoba, in partnership with some of Argentina's most famous professional sports clubs. With a fun and highly interactive program, we showed these young athletes how much music and sports have in common. At one point, we provided a "soundtrack" to a football match with volunteers providing the TV commentary on the action! Presenting classical music and its power of expression to new audiences is a key element of our mission and we are thrilled to share our music with these rising stars.

On the field at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, ready to kickoff Music and Sports!

Participants in the audience join us on stage to provide spirited commentary to our music.

New Docta in the News

We are thrilled to have received such tremendous press coverage from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. Because this festival is all about the people we serve, we are always thankful to those who help us spread the word by sharing our work.

CHECK OUT THE PRESS COVERAGE

Last, but certainly not least, THANK YOU

The 7th Edition of the New Docta International Music Festival would not have been possible without all the help we have received from our loyal supporters, fellow artists, friends, and family.

A special thanks goes out to our donors and sponsors. You make it possible for us to bring music and warm the hearts of thousands of people in Argentina, year after year.

We'd also like to thank our international guest artists, whose talents provide the spark for inspiration. Sandeep, Vasko, and Audrey made such an immense impact on the lives of those they worked with and they certainly have hundreds of new fans in Argentina!

We would also like to express our gratitude to the entire New Docta Team and Board who have worked countless hours behind the scenes to make this festival possible.

This Festival has made us better artists, but more importantly, it has made us better human beings. We cannot thank you enough for joining us on this ongoing journey, and we hope that, together with you, we are all one step closer to sharing the joys of music with anyone who comes with open eyes, ears, hearts, and minds regardless of from where they come. Music has brought us together, and we welcome more to join our family with open arms.

Thank you always for your continuous and loyal support. We look forward to next year!

Sami, Yves, and Solange