Marvão International Music Festival
The Marvão International Music Festival takes place in the midst of unique and unforgettable scenery at the summit of the highest mountain south of the Tagus, in the walled town of Marvão, Alentejo.
Founded in 2014 by HarrisonParrott artist Christoph Poppen, the Festival attracts visitors from all over the world and has been hailed for providing “Music at the highest level” (Diário de Notícias). At the same time, it remains firmly rooted in the Alentejo region and provides a cultural experience that is unique to the area. Poppen’s founding vision is for a festival that embraces different artforms and musical styles and that reaches out to the many, not the few. In 2016, the Festival won the award for Best Event 2016 in the Alentejo region.
The Festival, which takes place in July every year, was attended in 2017 by the President of the Republic of Portugal and attracted more than 6,000 people from across the globe. The festival featured 35 concerts in 14 venues and two countries (Portugal and Spain) alongside lectures, children’s concerts, a sung mass, a musical dinner hosted by internationally-renowned chef Thorsten Gillert in cooperation with Chef Julio Vintém, and a musical picnic in the nearby town of Ammaia, home to magnificent Roman ruins.
The Festival also hosted two major art exhibitions: Tapeçerias de Portalegre and Collecçao António Cachola. FIMM also welcomed gifted amateurs from around the world to take part for free in a Festival Orchestra, culminating in a public side-by-side performance with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.
HarrisonParrott’s consultancy project focuses on strengthening the capacity of the Festival to secure long-term funding from across a range of income streams, as well as providing advice on marketing.
With support from HarrisonParrott, FIMM launched a Patrons Circle to provide a vehicle for both individual and corporate support. The Circle has already attracted one of Portugal’s leading insurance firms, Ageas, along with private individuals from within Portugal and abroad.
