Artistic Director and principal horn of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Luca Benucci, has since the inauguration of the Festival been responsible for planning a wide range of quality events. The IX Festival promises an exploration of acoustic and visual sensations.

The Festival is a major cultural event for Santa Fiora, our medieval town at an altitude of 800 metres, the surrounding district of Monte Amiata and for the young musicians from Italy taking part in advanced courses held by players hailing from some of the world's greatest orchestras and conservatoires.
Local people, music lovers and tourists all have the chance to listen to these events free of charge.

This year we are delighted to welcome some outstanding international youth orchestras, inaugurating the festival and dedicating the concert to the Unicef and to other similar institution. We will continue with a Sinfonic course, in collaboration with soloists and conductors from the most famous orchestras in the world: Chicago Symphony, Teatro alla Scala, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Roma, Teatro Verdi of Trieste. Teachers and experts of high reputation will participate to masters and concerts of the "ITALIAN BRASS WEEK", together with members of the brasses section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Brass and other world-wide reputation soloist.

The town becomes alive with the sound of magical notes providing a musical backdrop in a magnificent setting, turning Santa Fiora into the music capital of Monte Amiata.

The Festival goes from strength to strength. This year our churches, cloisters and squares will resound to the sound of music and events, as will the open air auditorium set in the magnificent park at La Peschiera, inaugurated at the 2002 Festival. During the two-month Festival music will be ringing throughout the delightful streets of this magnificent town.

The public's enthusiasm has been more than we could ever have dreamed of. We anticipate the same audience levels at this year's Festival which upholds the spirit of the preceding years with its innovative and varied programming. Last year a total of 20,000 people attended 20 concerts.
The Festival is regularly broadcast on RAI and RAI International, Tele Tirreno, Tele Maremma, Odeon, RAI SAT and is widely written about in all the major Italian newpapers and magazines, including I Fiati, Repubblica, Manifesto, Nazione, Stampa, Liberazione, Suonare, Il Giornale della Musica and Italia Oggi. All this is in addition to a strong web presence.

We produce a range of paper publicity, including brochures, posters and cards. The Festival's official website received in excess of 11,000 visitors last year. Specialised sites promote the Festival, resulting in greater visibility on all the most popular search engines.

The Festival produces a promotional CD, Santa Fiora Live presented at the conclusion of the Festival to sponsors, staff and members of the Santa Fiora in Musica association.
The CD is traditionally used to broadcast the concerts on RAI Radio 3 and many private radio stations, to considerable wide acclaim.

CONCERT DIARY

A selection of Master Class and concert venues is at our disposal, by arrangement with the Town Council of Santa Fiora, which is also a major contributor to the Festival's budget.
Thanks to the support of Sponsors, funds are available for running master classes at affordable rates, thus attracting an increasing numbers of students, and for the organisers to promote concerts featuring soloists of international reputation.
The Festival has a print run of 15,000 brochures and 10,000 posters advertising the courses, master classes and concerts.
Our website is an effective marketing tool that will also be linked to other sites.
As in previous years, we anticipate editorial publicity in newpapers, magazines and periodicals and our Sponsors logos will appear on the Master Classes Entry Form.
People from the world of the arts, finance and commerce are keen supporters of the Festival, attending our concerts regularly.
Sponsors are key contributors to an initiative with noble aspirations, contributing towards the cultural activity of the community and professional development of aspiring young musicians.