The International Music Courses Association – Casa da Barbacam – (ACIM), was founded in 1996 as a non-profit association based in Óbidos.
Its long term objective is to create a nucleus of artistic-cultural activities of international standard in Portugal. Special emphasis is put on the continuity and the quality of its initiatives, underlining the importance of the international input in the vocational training of young musicians.
At a local level, ACIM plays an important role both in the cultural and the touristic development of the Western Region of Portugal. Among various cultural activities ACIM has promoted since 1996 the International Piano Masterclasses and Festival of Óbidos (SIPO – Semana Internacional de Piano de Óbidos).
In 2005, the Óbidos municipality unanimously decided to award ACIM with the Medal of Municipal Merit for conducting SIPO, for its high cultural value and for the impact this event has had on the image and development of that municipality.
The major purpose of SIPO is to bring together musicians of international reputation and young music students in the unique historical scenery of the medieval town of Óbidos, Portugal.
Therefore, SIPO is today one of the most highly regarded musical events in our country, with ample international repercussions.
The high standard master classes are open to professional level students, music teachers as well as pianists at the beginning of their career. A high pedagogical and artistic level is ensured thanks to the commitment of great personalities from the world of music.
By promoting an exceptional and demanding artistic and cultural exchange, SIPO aims at establishing contacts and developing the professional level of participants. SIPO also enables Portuguese students to have professional contact with highly regarded musicians, without having to leave their own country.
SIPO is promoted and organised by ACIM, supported by the Municipality of Óbidos, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture.
West International Piano Week – SIPO
The first SIPO took place in August 1996.
Since its beginning and without interruption, SIPO has been the meeting point for young students from around the world with great musicians and teachers in Óbidos. The goal of these meetings is to perfection the musical knowledge of all participants through stimulating and intense work with great masters. The charming environment and warm welcome of the town of Óbidos has greatly contributed to the success of this event.
For twelve days, piano music completely fills the medieval borough of Óbidos: both through the master classes, which take place during the day in numerous places, as well as through the evening concerts that are part of the Festival, which attract a music-loving and enthusiastic audience. Throughout its years of activity, SIPO has managed to create a new audience made up of all kinds of age and social groups in a region otherwise poor of cultural events of this nature.
Masterclasses – Advanced Training Courses
Due to its pedagogical structure, this event is considered unique in Portugal: a group of internationally acclaimed pianists, potentially supported by an assisting teacher, make up the pedagogic nucleus throughout the SIPO event.
During the entire duration of the courses, this nucleus is dedicated to teaching all participants. The latter are allowed to attend all courses and to work with more than one teacher. This philosophy enables each student to profit as much as possible from diverse teaching methods of each master-teacher they can observe.
To ensure a greater and more effective learning experience, the participants work in a rotating system since their number is limited to forty. Due to their pedagogic quality and diversity, these meetings have also largely contributed to the professional development of young Portuguese musicians who participate in ever growing numbers.
The courses are likewise opened to the public and take place simultaneously in three locations (Auditório Municipal da Casa da Música, Casa da Barbacam, Igreja da Misericordia).
At the end of the courses the participants obtain a participation diploma, which is of particular importance for their curriculum.
In 2004, the “Prémio Maria de Lurdes Avellar” was awarded for the first time in the history of SIPO. This is an award established by the Avellar family, residing in Óbidos.
This award is a tribute to the memory of D. Maria de Lurdes Avellar and has been created to stimulate the work of young musicians. It is given to outstanding students by the audience and master class teachers during the participant’s concerts.
Since 2011, the Antena 2 Award is given by RDP/Antena 2, a national music radio station, in the form of a live recorded concert, integrated in their series “Concertos abertos”, in Lisbon.
Both the high number of master class participants as well as the attendance of enthusiastic audiences prove the cultural interest of this project, with participants coming from numerous countries beyond Portugal: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, China, South Korea, Denmark, Spain, USA, France, Greece, England, Iran, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Ja-pan, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the Ukraine.
Since 2018, ACIM has promoted and organised the SIPO JUNIOR Sessions, a Music Education programme aimed at the development and advancement of young piano students from Grade 4 to Grade 8.
Since 2022, ACIM has held a concert season in the Oeste Region, with the aim of promoting, sharing, and stimulating musical culture, with a view to creating new audiences.
Along with the courses, a Music Festival with a number of renowned high quality concerts and recitals takes place.
All teachers (internationally acclaimed artists invited specifically for the Festival) and selected master class students participate in these concerts.
This initiative has greatly contributed to the cultural dynamism of the Western Region as well as to the national and international recognition of Óbidos.
The Festival’s programme, encompassing several centuries of music, with emphasis on Portuguese composers and interpreters, invites the audience to share unforgettable moments of music.
To date, SIPO has had the pleasure of welcoming the following renowned musicians:
Paul Badura-Skoda
Dmitri Bashirov
Helena Costa
Jörg Demus
Paulo Gaio Lima
Manuela Gouveia
Alexander Gurning
Cristoph Henkel
Luis Meireles
Vitaly Margulis
Jura Margulis
Carmen Martínez
Maria Mateu Palao
Luíz de Moura Castro
Caio Pagano
Mikhaïl Pethukov
Pierre Réach
Helena Rocha von Oertzen
Ludovic de San
Eugène Sarbu
Carmina Sarbu
Laszlo Simon
Maria José Sousa Guedes
Dominique de Williencourt
Boris Bloch
António Sérgio Ferreira
Clara Cernat
Thierry Huillet
Felix Simonian
Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras
Oxana Yablonskaya
Alexander Volchonok
Jun Kanno
Márcio Carneiro
Coro Claudio Carneyro
Lino Gaspar
Muza Rubackyté
Margarida Natividade
Bridget de Moura Castro
Boris Berman
Jorge Moyano
Jorge Luis Prats
Armando Possante
Luiza da Gama Santos
Alissa Margulis
Natália Margulis
Jean Marc Burfin
Orquestra de Câmara do Minho
Eulália Solé
Adriano Jordão
José Oliveira Lopes
Quarteto de Cordas de Matosinhos
Josep Colom
Ensemble de Violoncelos/Madalena de Sá e Costa
Fermin Bernetxea
Artur Pizarro
Grupo Vocal Olissipo
Orfeão de Leiria
Fausto Neves
Michiko Shoji
Olga Prats
Xavier Rivera
Tiemin Wang
Cristiano Holtz
Bruno Canino
Mirta Herrera
James Gilles
Eugen Indjic
Tiago Morin
Sofia Marafona
Camerata Atlantica – dir. Ana Beatriz Manzanilla
João Barradas
António Rosado
Piotr Switon
Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa – dir. Pedro Neves
Cristiano Holtz e Raquel Cravino – duo
James Gilles
Paulo Oliveira
Andrea Bonatta
Nuno Inácio
Paulo Pacheco
Sylvain Guillot – dança
Lucia Colom- dança
Orquestra Gulbenkian – dir. Rui Pinheiro
Lectures
Vasco Graça Moura
Bruno Caseirão
Rui Moreira
António Gomes de Pinho
Pedro Canavarro
António Perez Metelo
Joaquim Pnto da Silva
João Almeida
José Valle de Figueiredo
Miguel Magalhães
Rui Vieira Nery
Sérgio Azevedo
Helena Costa Araújo
Henrique Luis Gomes de Araújo
Since 2000, ACIM has regularly organised fine art exhibits at the Pavilhão da Casa da Barbacam. This initiative is integrated into SIPO with the goal of spreading the work of less renowned artists in Portugal
Previous guest artists include:
Maria Natália Vaz Pires Bieck (Portugal) – 2000, 2005 e 2024
Claus von Oertzen (Germany) – 2001
Pascale Ticheler (Netherlands) – 2002
Ernestine Kuger-Hoberg (Germany) – 2003
Marta Belo (Portugal) – 2004
Maria Leal da Costa (Portugal) – 2006
António Cunha e Silva (Portugal) – 2007
Alfonso Navarro (Spain) – 2008
Ana Maria Morais Soares (Portugal) – 2009
Pedro Castelo Branco (Portugal) – 2010
Reys Redel (Spain) – 2011
Alexandre Soares (Portugal) – 2012
Fernando Marques de Oliveira (Portugal) – 2013 e 2019
Natalia Billis – (Spain) 2014
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva- (Portugal) -2015
Isabel de Andrade- (Portugal) – 2016 e 2023
Ana Carvalho – (Portugal) – 2017
António Canavarro – (Portugal) – 2018
Rainer Gross – (Germany) – 2021
Margarida Lourenço (Portugal) – 2022
Isabel de Andrade (Portugal) – 2023
By combining the creative and communication side of music with fine arts, ACIM has had an obvious role in the cultural dynamism of the town of Óbidos.
