To ensure the sustainability of the festival and to meet the new challenges ahead, the Foundation Board has appointed Mr Mischa Damev as Artistic Director.
Born in Sofia in 1963 and of Franco-Bulgarian descent, Mischa Damev boasts a long international career as a concert pianist and conductor. He has conducted many prestigious ensembles in Switzerland and Europe. From 1990 to 1999, he was the Artistic Director of the Orpheum International Festival for Young Soloists in Zurich. Since 2007, he has been Head of Music at the Directorate of Cultural and Social Affairs of the Migros Cooperative Federation in Zurich and and Director of the Migros-Pour-Cent-Culturel-Classics. He will continue to hold this position alongside that of Artistic Director of the Septembre Musical Festival, which he will assume from Monday 10 September 2018.
Septembre Musical - A window on the world
Under Mischa Damev's leadership, the festival will undergo profound changes in the coming months, starting with its name. Now called "Septembre Musical - A Window on the World", the festival will highlight every year a country's cultural talents, be it in the field of music, dance or gastronomy: a sum of new experiences that the festival intends to offer its audience as from 2019 onwards. The first window opened by Mischa Damev for this 74th edition will offer a breathtaking view of Russia.
"With his solid international experience on both sides of the stage, both as an artist and artistic director, Mischa Damev’s appointment represents a promising continuation for the Septembre Musical Festival. It places the festival’s future in expert and experiences hands and gives it a new burst of energy. The Foundation Board is fully confident that Mr. Damev will be able to offer this essential event on the Swiss classical scene a well-deserved success. »