The Alfredo de Saint Malo International Festival (ASMF) was born in 2007 as an initiative of the Panamanian cellist Isaac M. Casal, with the support of musical institutions such as the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and the National Concert Association, with the firm purpose of promote cultural and artistic exchange between national and international musicians. Throughout its nineteen editions, the ASMF has established itself as a platform of educational excellence, cultural dialogue and high-level artistic training, maintaining academic music in its most inclusive and transformative dimension as its central axis.

This year, the Festival will be held from July 16 to 27, 2025, bringing together more than 500 musicians on stage in 13 concerts, including 3 international and 4 national groups, as well as more than 20 invited international artists, 20 national artists, 8 soloists, 3 international orchestral conductors, and more than 350 students who will actively participate in academic and artistic activities.

Among the international groups invited, Neo Tango and Ché Papusa from Argentina, and the Lyrique Quintette from the United States stand out. As national representatives, we are honored to have the participation of El Ensamble Paisaxe, the Panama Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (UNACHI), as well as the Camerata of the University of Panama, the School of Dance of Panama of the University of Panama and the National School of Dance of the Ministry of Culture.

The academic program will take place mainly in the City of Arts, where an intense pedagogical agenda will be carried out led by teachers from Poland, Spain, Thailand, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama. The ASMF 2025 academic body will offer 57 master classes, 24 hours of chamber music, 20 sectionals, 30 general rehearsals and more than 40 hours of academic certification in music pedagogy.

The academic approach revolves around four training pillars: the Festival Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonic Band, the Children’s and Youth Orchestra and the Voice Choir, where students and teachers collaborate closely in processes of collective learning and artistic excellence.

The academic and artistic presentations will take place in different emblematic settings of Panama City, including the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino), the Balboa Theater, the San Agustín School, the National Library, the Canal Museum and the City of Arts, consolidating the Festival as a true circuit of living culture.

ASMF 2025 renews its commitment to the training of new generations of musicians, to the valorization of Panamanian talent and to the strengthening of the regional artistic ecosystem, celebrating music as a tool of unity, identity and transformation.