GLÒRIA TELLO COMPANY

For another year the Palau de la Música becomes the venue for the best international meeting of wind bands in the world. There have now been 132 editions of the International Wind Band Contest "City of Valencia", 132 years of an event which this year brings together more than 2,000 musicians from two continents. These performers will share with us their emotion, feeling and passion in the culmination of a year of dedication and hard work, all with the aim of winning a prize in their division.

The "City of Valencia" is much more than a contest for many reasons including the place where it is held: the Palau de la Música, an auditorium with a prestigious history of artistic excellence which provides the ideal conditions for the contest, with superb acoustics and excellent facilities. It is also the oldest annual wind band contest in the world, which has been celebrated almost without interruption since its inception, and it is the biggest in terms of prize value, and the number of bands and musicians taking part.

We also want the "City of Valencia" to have a presence all over the city, and not only during the contest. For this reason we have once again put together a pre-contest program of concerts in different neighborhoods, a personal project which has expanded into various areas of the city over the past few years. I want the residents of these areas to enjoy the best wind band music on their doorsteps and experience a musical tradition which is so quintessentially Valencian.

As Valencian Minister of Culture and President of the International Wind Band Contest "City of Valencia" Organizing Committee, I want to welcome all the participating musicians to our region, those from elsewhere in Spain and abroad, and wish them the best of luck. I would also like to invite everyone to attend this event, an international reference point for its history and prestige, and one which distils the essence of wind band culture, an essential and fundamental part of Valencian society.

Glòria Tello Company
President of the Palau de la Música.