The Royal Charitable Concert organized by Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, one of the longest-running and most successful fundraising events in Romania, returns to the Romanian Athenaeum on October 25th 2024 with its 15th edition. The charity gala and musical evening takes place in the presence of the Romanian Royal Family. Exceptional musicians, successful alumni of the Young Talents program, will this time be the ones performing to support a new generation of scholarship recipients. Purchase tickets on: www.frmr.ro/concert-regal.

The event brings together personalities from the world of arts and culture, members of civil society, Romanian business leaders, media representatives, sponsors and supporters of the Royal Foundation, as well as the general public willing to support Romanian culture. The Romanian Athenaeum is thus traditionally the host of authentic values and generosity. The participants at this event enjoy a high-quality musical experience and receive eloquent confirmation that their support makes a significant difference.

On October 25th, on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, conductor Tiberiu Soare and the Orchestra Universitaria of the National University of Music Bucharest (UNMB) - institution that celebrates its 160th anniversary this year - will accompany internationally awarded young musicians of great value: pianists Cadmiel Boțac and Mihai Ritivoiu, cellists Constantin Borodin and Izabela Ghergu, and violinists Mircea Dumitrescu and Paul Răducanu. The soloists are successful alumni from the first generations of the Young Talents program.

Tiberiu Soare, one of Romania's most acclaimed conductors, joins the Royal Charity Concert for the fifth time, having been a mentor and member of the selection jury for the Young Talents scholarships since 2012. He is conductor of the Bucharest National Opera and initiator of the Experimental Opera and Ballet Studio "Ludovic Spiess" at the Bucharest National Opera. Tiberiu Soare frequently collaborates with the main Symphony Orchestras and Opera Theaters in Romania. On an international level, the artist's activity consists in collaborations with numerous prestigious ensembles: Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kammer Ensemble N (Stockholm), Musica Vitae Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), Osaka Chamber Symphony Orchestra (Japan), and many others.

"We are waiting for you in the superb hall of the Romanian Athenaeum to join us at the Royal Charity Concert, an event in which we want to show what we have been able to do so far through the Young Talents program, run by the Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, but also to ask you to stay close to us to make the musical and cultural life in Romania a much better one", is the invitation of conductor Tiberiu Soare.

Universitaria Orchestra of NUMB is the representative symphonic ensemble of the National University of Music in Bucharest, under the permanent guidance of Prof. Alexandru Ganea. Many of the students that make up the ensemble are members of the Romanian Youth Orchestra or collaborators of the orchestras of the George Enescu Philharmonic, Radio (National Radio Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra), Romanian National Opera, etc. Over the years, Universitaria has played under the baton of highly prestigious musicians: Tiberiu Soare, Cristian Mandeal, Horia Andreescu, Christian Badea, Leo Hussain, Konrad von Abel, Daisuke Soga.

The pianist Mihai Ritivoiu is a laureate of the George Enescu International Competition, where he was also awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of a piano sonata by George Enescu, and currently has a prolific career in Europe and Asia. Based in London, he has won numerous national and international competitions, including the Dinu Lipatti National Competition in Bucharest and the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Intercollegiate Competition in London. He has been invited to perform at prestigious festivals, including the Young Euro Classic in Berlin and the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, and has performed in venues such as the Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, etc. He has appeared live several times on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune" program. In addition to his solo recitals and concert appearances, Mihai Ritivoiu has a rich chamber music activity. A 2011 scholarship holder, Mihai Ritivoiu recalls: "Thanks to the scholarship I traveled for the first time to London in 2011 for the admission to the Master's course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. It also made it easier for me to attend the summer courses at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, or to attend another masterclass at the Music Academy of Villecroze."

Pianist Cadmiel Boțac graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. A born talent, he won his first national competition at the age of 6. Other national and international awards followed - at the "Young Virtuoso" competition (Zagreb), the "Dinu Lipatti" Competition, the International Competition "Astana Piano Passion" (Kazakhstan, 2014), as well as at the "Milano Piano Talents", "Adilia Alieva" in France, "Carl Filtsch", "Transylvanian Piano Competition"". In 2019, the young artist had the opportunity to perform George Enescu's "Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra", more than one hundred years after the first and only performance of the work. On the contribution of the Young Talent scholarship to his life between 2013-2015, Cadmiel Boțac says: "I had the opportunity to develop my talent in a harmonious way by attending master classes in Salzburg, Vienna and Strasbourg and to participate in several national and international competitions, which helped and motivated me to grow even more!"

Cellist Constantin Borodin has more than 20 national and international prizes to his credit, including Second Prize at the George Enescu International Competition (Bucharest, 2022), semi-finalist at the Aram Khachaturian International Competition (Armenia, 2022), Third Prize at the Domenico Gabrielli International Competition (Berlin, 2021), First Prize and Special Prize of the French Embassy at the Mihail Jora Competition (Bucharest, 2019), finalist at the Riga Classic Strings International Competition (Latvia, 2018). He was a student of distinguished professor Marin Cazacu at the National University of Music in Bucharest. He furthered his musical studies at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent and the University of the Arts in Berlin. He is a member of the Romanian National Orchestra and the Violoncellissimo Ensemble, and since October 2020 he is a Master's student at the University of the Arts in Berlin. For Constantin Borodin 2016, 2017 and 2018, the years when he was a scholarship recipient were "a pillar for my personal and artistic development. In addition to financial support, mentoring, guidance, they gave me confidence, perseverance and courage to pursue my dream and move forward."

Cellist Izabela Ghergu collaborates with the Romanian Youth Orchestra, the ensemble Violoncellissimo, the Bucharest National Opera Orchestra and is an instrumentalist in the Radio Chamber Orchestra. She is the laureate of numerous national and international competitions: Grand Prize at the National Competition "Alexandru Moroșanu'' (2014); Grand Prize at the International Competition of Young Performers "Eugen Coca" in Chisinau (2015); Grand Prize at the National Competition "Paul Constantinescu" (2016); First Prize at the National Instrumental Performance Olympiad (2008-2016); Grand Prize at the National Performance Competition "Eduard Caudella" (2020). In 2022 she reached the semi-finals of the "George Enescu" International Competition. Izabela Ghergu, a scholarship recipient of the program in 2014, 2015 and 2016, recalls: "The experiences I had then contributed to my maturity and development as a person and as a musician. The financial support assisted enormously in my professional development, especially because during that period I participated in many competitions, masterclasses and needed various accessories."

Dubbed "Little Paganini" by the national media at the age of 11, violinist Mircea Dumitrescu won his first international competition aged 12, at the "Alice Bel Colle" International Competition in Acqui Terme, Italy. Since then he has won over 60 competitions, including 25 international ones. In 2017 he participated in an international tour in France with the orchestra Les Dissonances conducted by Maestro David Grimal; he played as a soloist with many prestigious orchestras in Romania and abroad such as the Romanian National Opera Orchestra, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, Genoa Symphony Orchestra and many others. He has given recitals in Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland. About his scholarship period - 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 - Mircea Dumitrescu says: "Not only was I able to buy my very own instrument and all the necessary accessories, but I could also attend masterclasses with great musicians of the world, such as David Grimal, Mihaela Martin, Liviu Prunaru, Gabriel Croitoru, Silvia Marcovici and many others."

The violinist Paul Răducanu is a member of the Romanian Youth Orchestra and laureate of numerous competitions, including the International Competitions "Paul Polidor", "Timotei Popovici", "Miniature Romantic" and "W. A. Mozart ". Currently, Paul is studying for a Master's degree in the violin class of Prof. Dr. Gabriel Croitoru and performs with Prof. Dr. Gabriel Croitoru and Ioana Croitoru in the project called "The 4 violins of Maestro George Enescu", having the opportunity to play on the "Paul Kaul" violin. He was a scholarship recipient in 2011 and 2013, and for him that period meant a lot: "I had the chance to acquire my own violin - until then I played on a violin of the George Enescu High School, but also many other accessories (bow, strings, etc.), I participated in various masterclasses, competitions and Olympics."

Romania needs art!

Classical music and arts enthusiasts can actively contribute to supporting talented young artists by attending the Royal Charitable Concert and purchasing tickets.

Companies also have the opportunity to join as sponsors of the Young Talents program. The funds raised from these initiatives will have a significant impact on the development of artists in their early days of their careers over the next year, providing them with scholarships, mentoring and essential promotion. Without this support, talented young people in Romania may struggle to reach their true potential.

Partner: Kaufland România

Sponsors: EY România, B&B Collection - Kultho, PEPCO Retail, PPG România - Oskar, Ferrero România, Dedeman, Yardi România, UniCredit Bank, Enayati Medical City, Casa Siqua, Easy Print Services

Institutional partner: Universitatea Națională de Muzică București

Co-producers: TVR, Radio România

Media Partners: Europa FM, Radio România Muzical, Radio România Cultural, Radio România Actualități, Radio Trinitas,       RFI România, AGERPRES, Forbes, Forbes Life, ziarul cotidian diplomatic Nine O’Clock, Zile și Nopți, BIZ, Haute Culture, Adevărul, Revista CARIERE, Revista Insight Tarom, Cocor Media Channel, IQads, SMARK, Phoenix Media, Aici a Stat, Revista Cultura, Revista Zeppelin, The Institute, mediaTRUST România, Zenith Media

With the support of: Filarmonica George Enescu, Eventim

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About the national Young Talents program

Many talented children come from families whose financial possibilities do not allow them to pursue their talent. As a result, Romania loses dozens of talented young people every year who could otherwise become cultural ambassadors. Romania needs art! In response to this problem, Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation has created a national program to support, mentor and promote these talented young artists who come from low-income families and need financial support to reach their true potential and express their talent. Thus, 440 scholarships have helped young people aged between 14 and 24, who are studying music or visual arts in high schools and universities in Romania, to overcome their financial hardship and continue to express their artistic value. The Royal Foundation has been the sole beneficiary of the Royal Charitable Concert, organized annually since 2008, and the funds raised from ticket sales and sponsorship are dedicated to the Young Talent Project. The Royal Concert has traditionally taken place on October 25th, the birthday of King Mihai I of Romania, founder of the Foundation together with Her Majesty Margareta, Romanian Crown Custodian, and each edition of the anniversary concert has brought the most talented musicians of the moment and great orchestras to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, in support of young Romanian artists.

About Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation

Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation was established in 1990 by King Mihai I of Romania and Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. With 34 years of activity, the Royal Foundation supports children, young people and the elderly through sustainable interventions based on the exchange of experience and values between generations. Over the years, the Foundation has been involved in numerous social and cultural projects, supporting education and artistic talent. More details about the Foundation's programs are available at www.frmr.ro.