The Música Cercana tour, organised by Redeia and the Reina Sofía School of Music, will arrive in Manzanares this Friday after successful previous performances in Galicia, Asturias, Navarra, Aragón, and Cantabria. This academic and artistic initiative brings classical music closer to rural communities through free concerts held in historic or symbolic buildings, performed by students of the School. The idea is to provide more cultural, educational and leisure options for the rural population.

In collaboration with the Town Council, Manzanares was chosen as the first stop on the tour of Castilla-La Mancha, with a concert and a workshop with virtual reality goggles. On Friday, 30 May, two virtual reality workshop sessions will be held at 12:00 and 13:00 at the Municipal School of Music and Dance in Manzanares. The audience will be able to enjoy themselves while they learn about Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Respighi using virtual reality goggles.

The same evening, at 20:00, a concert will take place at the Gran Teatro de Manzanares, performed by the Piano Trio of the Reina Sofía School of Music, comprising young musicians Eduard Kollert (violin), Célia Garetti (cello), and Mariam Chitanava (piano).

They will perform two major works from the chamber music repertoire with piano: the Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15, by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, who was devastated by the loss of his oldest daughter, aged four, in 1855, and this piece is an emotional response reflecting his grief and sorrow; and the First Piano Trio in G major, by French composer Claude Debussy, written in 1880 when he was just 18 years old, influenced by Romanticism. Admission is free until capacity is reached.

'At Redeia, we are committed to developing and offering all kinds of opportunities to everyone, regardless of where they live. We believe that living in the most sparsely populated areas of Spain should not mean having fewer rights and opportunities.' With this initiative, we aim to offer a unique, top-level concert and to help ensure that rural areas have greater access to culture, education, and leisure,' states Patricia Crego, Redeia’s delegate in Castilla -La Mancha.

Julia Sánchez, general director of the Reina Sofía School of Music, an institution internationally renowned for its academic and artistic excellence, its general director, Julia Sánchez, added: 'Since the school was founded, its main mission has always been to support young musicians in their artistic and personal development, as well as to bring the impact of classical music closer to society. Achieving this is about performing in large venues and orchestras worldwide but about always seeking to reach every corner.'