Dear Amigos,

I must thank all the friends who responded to my call my arms in the last Newsletter and went to hear Antonio Cebola at Vale de Lobo. After his Masterclasses with Paul Crossley in London, his playing was more assured and his presence on the platform was markedly improved. He still has a long way to go but it is thrilling for us all to be involved with his progress.

The other event last month was our AGM, and yet again I am indebted to the goodly body of folk who took the time to venture out on such a wet and miserable evening. All the officers of the three committees involved were due for re-election and it was pleasing to note that not only were they all prepared to order cialis online fast shipping stand again, but that they were all re-elected en bloc. In fact the only change to any of the committees was the welcome addition of Anneli Lindroos as new blood within the Direcção. Presentations were made to the team at the Cultural Centre for their help during the last year and Marie Huber was also rewarded with a stylish scarf for all her kindness. After the business of the day there was an excellent piano recital by Joana Ballmann after which, at the kind invitation of Marie, there followed a delicious and as usual, very amicable supper.

The next concerts will take place on the 29^th of December and the 4^th of January when pianist Joana Gama will make her Cultural Centre debut. Joana was born in Braga and at the age of five she was enrolled at the Calouste Gulbenkian Conservatory of Music. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and eventually obtained her Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Evora. The printed program should be in the post to you, but as a foretaste I can tell you that on the 29^th she will play Liszt and Satie, and on the 4^th Chopin, Vila-Lobos and Ginastera.

2011 will mark the 30^th anniversary of the opening of

the Centro Cultural de São Lourenço and to celebrate the significant event we have tried to put together an especially ambitious series of concerts which as well as including some of our most illustrious old friends will also introduce us to new ones. You will find I have enclosed an outline of the concerts planned for next year. As many of you will already be aware, we have had great difficulty of pinning down some of the dates but I think you will have to agree when you take a look at it that it has been worth the wait. We have been so impressed by Katya Areishkeva over the years when she has accompanied Jack Liebeck that we have rather overlooked the fact that she has a very well established solo career in her own right. Uta, Sunita and Julian have always given us excellent evenings of music, and Piers, well yes, he promises to come in April and bring a distinguished friend, but when, and who remain to be seen. For Sa Chen to have accepted our invitation is just amazing; she is so much in demand all over the world. A look at the concert schedules on her web site makes one wonder how she manages to take it all in. What a coup! Jeroen and his new accompanist Bart will, I have no doubt, give us lovely concerts and then we come to September and October. The Trio in September are all Russian but come from different locations Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and there is a Cello, so another airline ticket. The Duo from Lubeck  in October are famous and promise to be outstanding. We are in for a great year.

With Good Wishes for a very Happy Christmas and a contented New Year.

Barry