Bankia S A : The ‘Bankia Escolta Valencia’ programme launches new projects in 2021 to mitigate the impact the pandemic is having on musical societies

• The programme promoted by Bankia, with the support of the FSMCV and the Institut Valencià de Cultura, has been allocated 1 million euros this year
• It has adapted to offer new initiatives compatible with the health situation and help musical societies to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Among this year's novelties are the promotion of the orchestral movement in the Community of Valencia through new projects such as the call for proposals 'Ayudas a la Música Valenciana', the 'Plan de Estímulo a las orquestas valencianas' or the 'I Festival de Orquestas Juveniles'
• In addition, the eighth edition of the Bankia-FSMCV Scholarships will be announced, with 300,000 euros, which has contributed to promoting the musical studies of more than 5,800 students since its launch in 2014

'Bankia Escolta Valencia', the project aimed at promoting and supporting music and the associative music movement in Comunidad Valenciana, endowed with one million euros in 2021, will promote new initiatives this year in order to adapt to the reality derived from the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact on the group of musical societies.

The programme, promoted by Bankia with the support of Federación de Sociedades Musicales de la Comunidad Valenciana (FSMCV) and the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC), has been redesigned with the aim of adapting these projects to the pandemic in the awareness of a serious impact that it is having on musical activity, both professional and amateur, and which is putting the survival of the associative and musical fabric of the region at risk.

One of the most significant novelties is the conversion of the 'Bankia Awards for Musical Talent in Comunidad Valenciana', which are held bi-annually to acknowledge people and entities that are developing excellent projects of national and international reference in different areas of music.

In the 2021 edition, this initiative has been converted into the new 'Aids to Valencian Music', financial aid with a prominent social aspect, which will benefit a greater number of entities and musical groups.

With a budget of 90,000 euros, the 'Aid to Valencian Music' will grant a total of 26 awards, articulated in four categories: 'Aid for companies and entrepreneurs related to musical activity in the Community of Valencia', 'Aid for musical formations of a professional nature', 'Aid for schools that develop innovations to maintain educational quality and promote social equality and inclusion projects in COVID-19 times' and 'Aid for musical societies that develop contingency plans to mitigate the risks of COVID-19'.

The 'Plan de Estímulo a las orquestas valencianas' will also be one of the strategic lines of action of the 'Bankia Escolta València' programme during this edition. With a total budget of 90,000 euros, the purpose of this line is to boost the orchestral movement of musical societies, promoting orchestral fabric and bringing this type of repertoires to the municipalities of Comunidad Valenciana, thus contributing to its cultural and tourist promotion.

'Bankia Orchestra Competition of Comunidad Valenciana'

Although the health circumstances have not allowed to convene the 2021 edition of the 'Orchestra Contest of Comunidad Valenciana', projects such as the 'Orchestra Festival' and the 'Cycle of concerts' have remained active, alike other years, but adapting the calendar to the current circumstances, in order to ensure compliance at all times with the established health and safety measures.

These proposals will be implemented with the 'I Festival de Orquestas Juveniles', a new series of concerts staged by youth orchestras of music schools and authorised centres of our musical societies that aims to continue fostering this line of promotion of orchestral practice among the youngest students in the sector. Added to all the above will be a training course for conductors of these youth orchestras, taught by Cristóbal Soler, as well as a study on the current situation of youth orchestral projects in Comunidad Valenciana.

With regard to the area of protection and conservation of heritage, the 'Música a la Llum' project will continue its firm commitment to research, cataloguing and dissemination of the musical heritage that music societies hold. If during the previous edition and as a result of the pandemic, this project has been converted into a cycle of fifteen concerts at the Alqueria Julià-Casa de la Música, for the 2021 edition the intention is to end the year with a concert by the Jove Banda Simfònica of the FSMCV in which they will perform works recovered thanks to this initiative, with the subsequent recording of the concert.

Likewise, the commitment to other basic lines of action is maintained, such as 'Alqueria Julià-Casa de la Música', the new headquarters of the FSMCV, and its revitalisation; the call for scholarships for students of schools within the network of musical societies this year will reach its eighth edition with a budget of 300,000 euros and that has allowed to support the musical studies of more than 5,800 students since its launch in 2014, which is still more necessary than ever, as well as the 'Arrima't a la Música' campaign, promoted by the IVC.

Regional structuring

The coordinator of the Communication and External Relations Directorate of Bankia inComunidad Valenciana and Murcia, Isabel Rubio, highlighted 'the importance of maintaining support for musical societies at such a necessary time through a programme that has already become in reference from a social and cultural point of view and with which, since 2014, we have contributed to structuring the region'. 'For Bankia, music represents our own values: professionalism, integrity, commitment, closeness and focus on achievement', she underlined.

For the president of the FSMCV, Daniela González, 'the 'Bankia Escolta Valencia' programme is a vital support for the group of musical societies, especially at this time, which are critical due to the enormous impact the crisis is causing on our sector. Thanks to this programme, we have promoted key projects in terms of heritage conservation, promotion of music education or the promotion of the orchestral fabric in our region, among others, consolidating our position as a benchmark in the promotion of our heritage and our culture'. 'Now, with the adaptation of these projects to the new reality, we are once again proving that Bankia Escolta Valencia remains on the side of musical societies when they need it most', added the President.

For Marga Landete, deputy director of Music and Popular Culture at the Institut Valencià de Cultura, the 'Bankia Escolta València' programme 'represents a before and after in the institutional support for music bands in our region and is already an essential prop of the growth and consolidation of numerous Valencian musical societies, as well as the training of our musicians. This year we are even more committed to all the projects it encompasses, to continue being by the side of music in all its facets'.