Festival brings more than 200 free performances of Brazilian classical and popular music; The event takes place from January 12 to 25 in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina
The Santa Catarina International Music Festival (Femusc) celebrates its 20th edition by highlighting female leaders in classical music. In this edition, Femusc organized a program of presentations that emphasize the role of influential women in the music scene. Considered the largest classical music school festival in Latin America, the event will take place from January 12 to 25, 2025, in Jaraguá do Sul, in the northeast of the state of Santa Catarina.
The event will bring in the conduct of its main orchestral presentations Ligia Amadio, Head of the Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra and one of the most acclaimed conductors today. Under the baton of Ligia will be 80 musicians who will play the 5th Symphony of Tchaikovsky and the Pulcinella Suite of Stravinsky. The Maestrina is the founder of the “International Conferences of Regent Women” and, recently, It gave its name to the 1st National Contest for Women Soloists, held at Theatro da Paz, in Belém.
Another novelty that arrives in this edition of Femusc is the American Abbie Connant, who will give trombone classes to students and suits for all metal instruments. Connant has a well-known history in the world of classical music. The trombone soloist was fired from the Munich Philharmonic for being a woman and the case ended up in the courts. A film about conductor Sergiu Celibidache, responsible for Connant’s resignation, is currently filmed with John Malkovich, Ben Schnetzer, Sean Bean and Kate Phillips in the lead roles.
Integra The FEMUSC still For the twentieth time, the Costa Rican Catalina Guevara Klein, who this year is dedicated to the artistic coordination of the festival alongside maestro Alex Klein, founder of FEMUSC. Catalina is the creator of the Canadian Foundation  Mount Parnassus, who works for female inclusion in orchestras and old music groups. The Mount Parnassus Foundation launched this year in Canada The “The Pass Early Music Festival” following social principles from FEMUSC.
“Femusc has been a space of great representation and diversity over these 20 years of existence”, says conductor Alex Klein, creator of the event. “The female presence has always been imperative and we have, since the first editions of FEMUSC,  women occupy leadership positions, in the direction, supervision, coordination and, on stage – whether in musical performances or in lectures and workshops – we work to strengthen the Feminism protagonism”, he says.
The starring team of Femusc is also composed, the singer Lívia Nestrovski who will act as a singing teacher for the MPB program. Lívia’s course attracted a record of 62 entries from seven countries and six Brazilian states. The singer, considered one of the greatest exponents of her generation, brings a repertoire that mixes jazz and Brazilian music and has been a soloist for important bands in Brazil and abroad..
In the MPB programming, FEMUSC will hold sessions in honor of Elis Regina, one of the most important voices of Brazilian music, acclaimed nationally and internationally, and which would turn 80 in March 2025. The initiative seeks to count and rescue Elis’ career, the always “Pimentinha”, through musical performances throughout the event.
To learn more about FEMUSC programming, visit the website www.femusc.com.br. The event is completely free and all presentations are free. Interested parties must pick up tickets at the SCAR box office, cultural center and main stage of the event, starting on January 10th.
