Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach: Internationally acclaimed pianist Maria Dolores Gaitán will be coming to the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach to host two concerts and workshops the first weekend in December. Tickets for the two concerts and workshops can be found at ccpvb.org.

Gaitán gives a unique performance with a universal vision of Spain through the gestures of the musical movement and its most significant elements, such as dance, flamenco and the popular elements that make it unique. Each piece is evidence of these ingredients with an international language like a trip through the Iberian geography via the hand of composers such as Tturina, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and Manuel de Falla. As the latter said in his "Piéces Espagnoles," this work aims to show the "Spanish race."

On Thursday, December 5, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Gaitán will host a family-friendly piano concerto at the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach. Light refreshments will be provided. Tickets cost $20 for adults and children over age 10. The concert is free for children 10 years of age and younger. For tickets visit ccpvb.org, call Jennifer Jordan at 904-280-0614 Ext. 1202, or email jjordan@ccpvb.org.

Proceeds from Gaitán's three-day visit will benefit the Cultural Center's educational and cultural programming and project La Florida, the interactive digital archive of the Americas.

“It stands out in each of its interpretations for its brilliant energy and unmistakably Spanish harmonies.” (ABC Journal, October 4, 2016).

Gaitán was the only pianist who played in the Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Córdoba, and received great critical acclaim and notable media coverage such as Antena 3 TV, Canal Sur TV, the Córdoba newspapers, and others.

About Maria Dolores Gaitán
Born in Villa del Río (Córdoba, Spain), she is internationally recognized for her energy and interpretative personality , and was chosen by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) as a representative of Spanish musical culture to Italy. Additionally, she was nominated for the "Princess of Girona 2018 Foundation Award” by Carlos López Otín (National Research Prize "Ramón y Cajal) and awarded for her "3Tú" cultural management project.

Recently, Gaitán has distinguished herself as an artist “Marca España” (España Global) for her artistic quality research and as a representative of Spanish talent worldwide. In 2017, for her musical initiative, she received the "artistic recognition of the talent of the VIII Biennial of Art of Villa del Río" award.

Gaitán has won numerous international competitions, including the Città di Padova International Competition, the Antonio Beltrami Prize, the 6th Antonio Salieri Competition, the 7th Montichiari International Competition, and the Competition for Young Performers "Città di Lissone." She graduated in piano at the Rafael Orozco Music Conservatory and concurrently in Music Pedagogy at the University of Educational Sciences of Córdoba.

Gaitán completed her academic career with two Specialist Masters at the G. Verdi Conservatory of Milan intensively studying Chamber Music and Piano. She studied with master pianists such as Larisa Tedtoeva, Emanuela Piemonti, Paolo Bordoni, Jorge Luis Prats, Lilya Zilberstein, Alexander Kandelaki, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Pietro Soraci, and Rafael Quero.

Gaitán has performed numerous tours in Europe, playing in theaters including the Loggione of Teatro Alla Scala, Auditorium La Verdi and Parenti Theater in Milan (Italy), Argentina Theater in Rome, Gran Teatro Falla in Cadiz and Auditorio ADDA in Alicante (Spain), Góngora Theater of Córdoba, Foce Theater (Switzerland), and Drama Theater (Bulgaria).

She plays with great care and perseverance with renowned artists such as Mikhail Milman of the Kopelman Quartet, Sergey Teslya, of the Spanish National Orchestra, Camerata Orphica in Vienna, with Mario Hossen, Luisa Sello and Chiara Torselli, performing an intense chamber activity. Gaitán has played as a soloist, and on numerous occasions with the Córdoba Orchestra, City of Granada Orchestra, and the Tambov Symphony Orchestra of Russia, performing several premieres such as "Iquitum" by V.Sivilotti and "Capriccio Spagnolo" by D. Lorenzini.

She was the first pianist to create a musical show in the archaeological site of Medina Azahara, recently declared Unesco World Heritage 2018, an artistic conception of her making, performing the first score on the "Songs of Synagogue" by Maimonides. Gaitán made several world premieres including “Iquitum” by Valter Sivilotti and CapriccioSpagnolo by Danilo Lorenzini, performing this last composition in the Mosque of Córdoba.

She played under the direction of E. Syrkin, S. Fedoseev, Marco Pace and Nahel Al Halabi and previewed 13 Spanish women composers for the project "Bartok's Challenge," commissioned by the Spanish National Musical Difussione Center (CNDM ) and “Junta de Andalucía” for the XVth Spanish Music Festival of Cadiz.