Words cannot describe how incredible this experience was and has been. One of my favorite aspects and qualities of the performing arts is the collaboration that artists find with one another to work together to create art not only for themselves, but the greater community. This festival was a commitment to this idea of collaboration, musicianship, and international friendship. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. And what a better place for it to take place in than beautiful Porto (C)Heli!
Over the course of the ten days of the festival, I had the chance to witness concerts from musicians from all over the world playing everything from piano, cello, the lyre, and of course beautiful vocalists, take masterclasses with professional musicians encompassing topics such as storytelling as a musician, vocal technique masterclasses, and Chopin music pedagogy, in which the festival is rooted, and to top it all off, I had the chance to perform as a part of three separate concerts alongside so many wonderfully talented musicians from around the world. I felt myself growing as a performer and found myself falling in love again with certain pieces of music I had put on a shelf for a while.
Thank you to all of the friends I made, the artists who volunteered their time to teach master classes, the musicians who performed so beautifully at each of the concerts and everyone who made this experience such a special one. I can only hope that my journey will take me back to Porto Heli someday, but for now I will just cherish the wonderful memories that I have from such a special experience.
For more information on the festival: https://phifestival.com/en/
For performance videos from the 2023 festival:
Photos from the Festival:
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