David Afkham defends that his reelection as head of the OCNE has been “transparent” and says that it is his “musical family”
The titular and artistic director of the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain (OCNE), David Afkham,has defended that the process of his re-election at the head of the institution has been “transparent” and has assured that he is committed to a “transition as healthy as possible because” the OCNE will always be my musical family.
“My commitment to the OCNE is total, which is why I accepted the renewal and, in the same way, I will help to carry out a transition as healthy as possible at the moment in which they ask me”, Afkham admitted in an interview with Europa Press, asked if he would like to continue leading the Orchestra when his contract ends (September 2026).
The director has indicated that the selection process has been “transparent” although he has clarified that he has not trained for him, so he is not the “right” person to talk about it. “I have only been involved in the conversations about the future of the orchestra at the time when the renewal was proposed to me by the INAEM leadership, so I can’t say anything about what was discussed previously,” he said.
On January 10, the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) made official the renewal of Afkham, which ended its contract on August 31, 2024. News that caused a stir due to the “annoyance” of some members of the Orchestra with the decision.
“I have followed it with some surprise, since on some occasions it has given me the feeling that the information that has been published was not complete or, in a certain way, was imprecise.“, he pointed out.
The expansion of his relationship with the OCNE will allow him to develop the projects that he had on the table and that were paralyzed during the pandemic. For this reason, he has described the extension as an “excellent opportunity” to continue developing the artistic quality of the orchestra, “which is already very high”. “I can’t be more proud“, has underlined.
Among the projects he is considering, he has highlighted the Orchestral Academy, a project that, as he has detailed, seeks to create an educational program of the highest excellence to train young musicians.
It also contemplates carrying out a digital platform to bring the OCNE concerts to the whole world, “in the style of the Digital Concert Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic”. “They are two very ambitious projects with which I am very excited and I think they will elevate the orchestra to another level“, he reaffirmed.
In addition, the musicians will continue to tour nationally and internationally and have indicated that some dates have already been set for this. “We are the State orchestra and one of our highest responsibilities is to reach the entire Spanish territory. For this very reason, we also have the duty to represent the culture of Spain abroad. In fact,We already have some dates set to visit other countries and show the talent of our musicians“, he has sentenced.
