Dear infopharm.com Amigos,

I hope everyone who went to the concerts last week enjoyed a glimpse into the extraordinary life and loves of Franz Liszt. As you will have realised, the spoken readings as well as the choice of music, were all put together by Lucy Parham. Lucy played well, with style and confidence. Orla Charlton and Christopher Bramwell were in good voice and read with wit and aplomb. If there ever a composer was a romantic icon, it has to have been Franz Liszt.

Many of you will have heard that our good friend Carmen is leaving the Cultural Centre and returning to Germany. The date of Carmen’s arrival at Sâo Lourenço eighteen years ago coincides closely with the founding of the Amigos de Música. We shall all miss her greatly. Last Sunday evening Marie gave a farewell party for her where it was my bittersweet privilege to present her with a cheque on behalf of all the Amigos as a token of appreciation for all the help, kindness and friendship she has given to all

of us over the best part of two decades. We will miss her and I am sure you join me in wishing her well.

November draws ever closer and with it the prospect of the Amigos de Muscia’s Annual General Meeting on Friday the 21st. You will shortly be receiving the convocation papers from John Levitt, Presidente da Assembleia Geral. It would be kind if you could spare the time to attend. As usual, we plan to follow the AGM with our Young Musicians Gala Concert when we shall have the pleasure of hearing a piano recital by Joanna Ballmann. For our new members let me just say that as part of

the Amigos charter, we help sponsor a young Portuguese music student. For several years we were able to offer a helping hand to Nuno Silva Marques who graduated from the Royal College of Music in London with his Masters degree and is now perusing an active career in Braga. Last year we began afresh by assisting Joanna Ballmann from Lisbon who is studying Piano in Cologne. It is a long established tradition that our sponsoree should give a concert after our AGM and last year we were quite riveted to our seats when Joanna played for the first time. So much so that I would be surprised indeed if anyone who heard her last year would miss the opportunity of hearing her again, one year on. Also as part of the tradition, Marie and the team at the Cultural Centre invite all the Amigos to stay on for supper. It is a fun evening and all in all I think it is safe to boast that there are not many associations and clubs which are quite as user friendly as the Amigos de Música. Please come if you can.

With good wishes,