Óbidos International Piano Master Classes & Festival (SIPO)

The first SIPO event took place in August 1996.

Uninterrupted since 1996, SIPO receives students, teachers and great musicians from all over the world.

Through classes with the great masters of this art, the purpose of these meetings is to increase the musical knowledge of all participants. The charming and friendly atmosphere that the village of Óbidos transmits to everyone contributes to the success of the event.

For 12 days, the piano invades the municipality of Óbidos: through classes that take place during the day in different spaces in the village or through the concerts that are also part of the festival and that attract an enthusiastic audience for this type of art which is the piano .

After these years of activity, SIPO managed to attract new audiences that reveal that this festival reaches different age and social groups throughout the region where

Due to the pedagogical structure, SIPO is considered unique in Portugal, a group of acclaimed international pianists, helped by an assistant teacher, form several pedagogical groups during the event.

This nucleus is dedicated to teaching all participants of the event. Then all participants can participate in all available courses and work with more than one teacher. This philosophy allows each student to get the most out of their stay, taking the opportunity to assimilate different teaching methods.

There are only 40 participants anticipating that this way their experience can be even more valued, ending up working in a rotation system, these events end up contributing to the professional development of young Portuguese musicians who are increasingly participating.

The courses are open to the public and take place at the same time in 3 different locations: Casa da Música Municipal Auditorium, Casa da Barbacam, Igreja da Misericórdia.

At the end of the courses, participants receive a participation diploma, thus strengthening their curriculum.

In 2004, SIPO begins to celebrate the "Maria de Lurdes Avellar Award". This award is given by the Avellar family who reside in Óbidos.

This award is a tribute to the memory of D. Maria de Lurdes Avellar and was created to stimulate the work of young musicians. It is given to students who complete their courses with great mastery and is awarded during the concerts given by the participants.

Since 2011, Rádio Portuguesa Antena 2 has also awarded a prize that is nothing more than a live recorded concert integrated in the series "Concerts open" in Lisbon.

During the courses, there is a music festival that brings to Óbidos a large number of high quality concerts that take place in the Municipal Auditorium of Casa da Música.

All teachers, internationally acclaimed artists are invited to the festival where some of the students are also chosen to participate in the concerts. This type of festival brings to the town of Óbidos a sensitized audience with a deep knowledge of what the piano is.

This initiative contributes to a great extent for the development and cultural dynamics of the region as well as the national and international recognition of Óbidos.

The SIPO program accompanies several centuries of music, emphasizing Portuguese composers and interpreters and invites everyone to participate in these unique moments.

The number of participants in these classes / courses and the public involved in the event demonstrate the cultural interest of the event, representing countries that go beyond Portugal, such as: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Rep., Chile, China, South Korea, Denmark, Spain, USA, France, Greece, England, Iran, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Rep. Of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine .

More information about the event here.

SIPO is one of the several events that Óbidos promotes throughout the year.