Romanian musicians of international standing — ambassadors of the national Young Talents program run by The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation — will gather in Bucharest to perform in a special fundraising concert dedicated to this program.

The Royal Charity Concert, now in its 13th edition, will take place on October 25, 2022, at the Romanian Athenaeum, in the presence of the Romanian Royal Family. As every year, supporters of the arts — diplomatic representatives, cultural figures and business leaders, donors and sponsors of the Foundation — will meet at the Romanian Athenaeum to support young artists with limited financial means in pursuing their talent, receiving in return a musical feast and undeniable proof that their support truly matters.

Cellist Andrei Ioniță, one of the most outstanding artists to emerge on the world’s stages in the past decade and the first Romanian musician to win the Tchaikovsky Competition, soprano Diana Alexe, who performs on opera stages in Austria and Germany, and George Vîrban, tenor on prestigious European stages, will perform at the Romanian Athenaeum to support the Foundation’s efforts and to give other young people at the beginning of their journey the chance to follow their dreams. The musical program — featuring a selection of the most beautiful opera and operetta pieces, famous arias and duets from works by composers such as Charles Gounod, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti, Franz Lehár, and Pablo Sorozábal, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations — will be performed by the New Hope Orchestra, conducted by David Crescenzi..

The protagonists of the Royal Charity Concert — Andrei Ioniță, Diana Alexe, and George Vîrban — are among the first generations of scholarship recipients of the Foundation and are today well-known names on international stages, from Carnegie Hall in New York, London, Shanghai, and Munich to Vienna.

Romania needs art!

Lovers of classical music and the arts can also become supporters of the Young Talents through purchasing tickets to the Royal Charity Concert. Companies can support the program Young Talents program.  The funds raised will help emerging artists develop their potential over the coming year through scholarships, mentorship, and promotion. Without this support, Romania’s talented youth would find it very difficult — or even impossible — to reach their true potential.

Donations and Sponsorships for Romania’s Talented Youth

The Romanian Athenaeum will also be the space where classical music meets visual art, through works created and exhibited in the foyer by young visual artists, scholarship recipients of the Foundation in 2022. The exhibition is inspired by the interests and passions of the members of the Royal Family over time, themselves guided by role models from the social sphere and the social life of their eras.

The funds raised from sponsorships and donations attracted by the Royal Charity Concert have totaled over €1,800,000 over the years and have been invested in Romania’s artistic future. A total of 380 scholarships have been awarded to talented young people at the beginning of their journey from low-income families, and with the support of mentors and sustained promotion, they have achieved outstanding national and international performances. The Young Talents program is recognized as the Best Arts and Culture Program in Romania, having won four awards at the Civil Society Gala, including in 2022.

Organized annually since 2008 by The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, the Royal Charity Concert traditionally takes place on October 25, the birthday of King Michael I of Romania, founder of the Foundation together with Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. Each anniversary edition of the concert has brought the most outstanding musicians of the moment and major orchestras to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum in support of young Romanian artists.

The Royal Charity Concert will be broadcast live on TVR 2 and Radio România Muzical.

Partners 2022:

Co-producers: TVR, Radio România Muzical, Radio România Cultural

Partner: Kaufland România

Sponsors: Globalworth Foundation, Kultho, Oskar, Dedeman, Pepco, Sofmedica, Enayati Group, Boiron România, Raycap, Hotel Siqua, Easy Print Services

Media partners: Magic FM, RFI România, Forbes, Forbes Life, BIZ, Historia, Zile și Nopți, Chapter4 România, Revista Cultura, The Institute, Radio Clasic, Phoenix Media, Nine O’Clock, Societatea Muzicală, Revista Cariere, Capital Cultural, Insight TAROM, Iqads, Smark, The Diplomat, Bucharest Journal, MediaTrust Romania

With the support of: Filarmonica George Enescu, Muzeul Municipiului București, Iabilet.ro

About the national program Young Talents

Many talented children come from families whose financial means 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 issue, The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation created a national program to support, guide, and promote these talented young artists from low-income families who need financial support to reach their true potential and express their talent. A total of 380 young people aged 14 to 24 studying music or visual arts in Romanian high schools and universities have been helped to overcome financial hardship and continue expressing their artistic value.

About The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation

The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation was established in 1990 by King Michael I of Romania and Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. With over 30 years of activity, the Foundation supports children, young people, and seniors through sustainable interventions based on the exchange of experience and values between generations. Over time, the Foundation has been involved in numerous social, cultural, and education- and arts-support projects. More details about the Foundation’s programs are available at fundatiaregala.ro/.

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Andrei Ioniță – world-class cellist, first Romanian winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition

Named a “BBC New Generation Artist” for 2016–2018 and described by The Times as “one of the most captivating cellists to emerge in the past decade,” with brilliant technique and musicality, Andrei Ioniță is the first Romanian musician to have won the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (2015), one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions. He has performed on some of the most renowned stages in Europe, the United States, and Asia, in recitals and concerts with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Tokyo Philharmonic, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.

Diana Alexe – soprano

In 2013, she won the award for Best Soloist under 20. In 2016, she received a special prize from tenor Teodor Ilincăi. In 2017, she made her debut on the stage of the Comic Opera for Children in Bucharest. In 2018, she went abroad to study and joined the Vienna State Opera Academy. In 2019, she received the award for Best Interpretation of a Dvořák lied and First Prize at the “Antonín Dvořák” International Competition in the Czech Republic, as well as other notable prizes at competitions in Austria, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania. In 2021, she debuted at the Musikverein Graz and the Vienna Konzerthaus in the filmed production of Don Giovanni, broadcast on ORF III and released on CD. Today, at just 27 years old, soprano Diana Alexe performs on opera stages in Austria and Germany.

George Vîrban – tenor, principal soloist of the “Ion Dacian” National Operetta and Musical Theatre, Bucharest  

In 2015, he won the Radio Romania Prize at the Grand Prix Opera International Competition. In 2016, he made his debut as Lensky at the Saransk Opera in Russia, performing at the Grand Avignon Opera in France and at the opening of the opera season at Sala Radio in Bucharest. In 2017, tenor George Vîrban performed at the Romanian National Opera in Cluj-Napoca, toured eight cities in China, and sang at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Between 2017 and 2019, he was a regular guest soloist at the Bucharest National Opera, and since 2017 he has been the principal soloist of the “Ion Dacian” National Operetta and Musical Theatre in Bucharest. In 2019, he won Third Prize at the Virginia Zeani International Singing Competition, and between 2019 and 2021 he was a soloist at the prestigious Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

David Crescenzi, one of today’s most important conductors, David Crescenzi is regularly invited to lead major productions on prestigious opera stages. In Romania, he has conducted significant performances at the Romanian National Opera in Timișoara (since 2002) and at the Bucharest National Opera (since 2006). In 2007, he appeared with the Romanian National Opera in Timișoara at the George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest, conducting Puccini’s Tosca. In 2008, at the Sferisterio Arena in Macerata, he conducted the Italian premiere of Paul Hindemith’s Neues vom Tage. Also in 2008, he became a guest conductor of the Romanian National Opera in Cluj-Napoca. Since 2013, he has been a guest conductor with the Radio orchestras in Bucharest. Between 2014 and 2020, he served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. In 2021, he became Principal Conductor of the Romanian National Opera in Iași.

New Hope Orchestra

New Hope is a project-based orchestra whose mission is to bring joy through music to people who are suffering and to those who stand by them. The uniqueness of the project lies in organizing concert series in hospitals across Romania, as a sign of gratitude and appreciation for medical staff who, over the past year, have been on the front line fighting the COVID-19 virus.

When passion, love for others, and the joy of making music together intertwine with excellence, Music is born. It is the force that defines the personality of each musician in the New Hope Orchestra. The young performers, rigorously selected, are members of the country’s most important ensembles: the George Enescu Philharmonic, the National Radio Orchestra, the Bucharest National Opera Orchestra, the Romanian Youth Orchestra, and others.