Celebrating the AIMS Festival’s 21st anniversary!

The annual AIMS Music Festival is located in the town of Solsona, about 100Km North of Barcelona. Solsona and the surrounding towns are near the foothills of the famous Pyrenees Mountains, a region rich in history and culture. This is a perfect backdrop for a classical music festival, which the students, teachers, and a few lucky visitors would all appreciate.

Each year Friends of AIMS US offers a very private cultural tour to some of the generous supporters of AIMS, all-expense paid. That includes transportation, hotel, and gourmet meals, and of course the music concerts. We get to see some of the famous and touristic places too, but by and large this is an exclusive tour, they also take us to some of the intriguing and fascinating places only the locals know.

Another aspect of the private cultural tour is that we get to meet and make friends with the local folks who also share the same passion and support for AIMS. We have been invited each year by Reig’s family to a traditional lunch at their summer house. We may nag him again to see his hydroelectric generating station that powers the region. This kind of friendship has led to a recent proposal for a number of Solsona friends to visit US. I am sure we will return the favor and gladly host them.

In the past, everyone enjoyed an easy hike up the beautiful trails that border the Pyrenees. Some may wish for a bicycle excursion thru narrow streets of historic towns. More daring folks can opt for mountain biking or four wheeling off road. This is a small private tour, all things are flexible. If all goes as planned, may be

meeting the new Mayor of Solsona and visit the city hall. We will also get to meet some of the students and most of the teachers who are well known professors at various universities in Europe.

There are over 45 concerts planned for the festival over the span of 21 days. We will not be able to see all of them, only several concerts in the middle of the long program. This is when both the string instrument students and the wind instrument students perform together. The venues vary, and in different towns, but the visitors will be delighted to be sitting in age old traditional churches, listening to the students and teachers perform classical music that is so fitting for the surroundings.

This is their 21st AIMS festival and Peter and Seonhee worked tirelessly to make this one of the best music festivals in Europe. The talent of the students and the dedication by the music professors are just amazing and you can feel that in every concert they perform.

Please review the tentative schedule of the cultural tour below. For any questions or suggestions, please email me at chonglee00@comcast.net. We can also tour Barcelona before or after the festival, or people can plan separate trips to other parts of Europe. Dollar seems strong this year and many people are planning a trip to Europe. We should book our flights soon. Current regulations for US citizens traveling to and from Spain can be found here: https://es.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Reig’s summer house

Your accomodation

Your accomodation

Sputnik Bar

Teatre comarcal

Hiking in Sant Llorenç