Mission
The MiniSeixas Project has the mission of preserving and celebrating the work of the great composer José António Carlos Seixas, by promoting it among younger generations. This great Portuguese composer was also a famous music teacher among aristocratic families in Lisbon at the beginning of the 18th century, which is why many of his sonatas and minuets have a notably pedagogical nature, having been composed with his students in mind.
MiniSeixas takes inspiration from the spirit of the composer-teacher after whom it is named, with the aim of achieving two main objectives:
1. To bring together harpsichord, organ, and piano students from various artistic schools across the country through annual activities centered around the work of Carlos Seixas: visits to manuscripts; visits to historical instruments from this period; fostering social interaction and a shared identity. In this way, it seeks to develop interest and enthusiasm among the younger generation for the work of this composer, as well as for Portuguese musical instruments and heritage.
2. To create an audiovisual record of Carlos Seixas's keyboard works, interpreted and kept alive and relevant by young students of keyboard instruments.
The selection process
A competition format is proposed to address logistical limitations specific to the project, but also as a way to rank interested participants: the aim is to select the works and young performers best prepared for recording, focusing primarily on the quality of the final product rather than the overall technical or artistic ability of each contestant (as is the case in competitions that involve the performance of a broader repertoire).
The works recorded in each edition cannot be recorded again on the same instrument in future editions.
Who can participate
This competition is open to children and teenagers, aged 9 to 17, who are students (in official or non-official education) of harpsichord, organ, and piano.
2024 Edition of the Carlos Seixas Keyboard Music Competition
The first national edition of the MiniSeixas Keyboard Festival took place in the city of Coimbra, in partnership with the University of Coimbra. All information for this edition of the competition can be found at Regulamento.
Selected 24'
Congratulations and our heartfelt thanks to all the nearly 100 participants for making this project a reality!!!
Whether selected or not, you are all winners. The recordings we received were of high quality and a great showcase of the excellent work being done from north to south of the country in the harpsichord, organ, and piano classes.
Earlier Editions
Institutional Partners
Sponsors
