Ecos Festival | Festival Internacional de Música Antigua de Sierra Espuña

IX EDITION OF ECOS FESTIVAL OF SIERRA ESPUÑA

The ECOS Festival of Sierra Espuña moves its 2025 edition to November.

The programme and the new venues for this edition will be officially announced in early October 2025.

The ECOS Festival of Sierra Espuña, organised by the Sierra Espuña Tourist Association together with Early Music Project, the vocal ensemble Cantoría, and the University of Murcia, officially announces that its ninth edition will take place in November 2025 instead of its usual summer dates. The festival will be held between 7 and 22 November, spread over three weekends, with concerts in various locations across the “Sierra Espuña Territory.”

This decision was made jointly by all the organising entities, who have spent recent months seeking solutions for the festival’s funding. The rise in concert production costs due to increasing prices in recent years, combined with a reduction in financial support from the Regional Department of Tourism and Culture in the previous edition, has required a rethinking of the event to adapt to the new reality.

Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of the organisers, and even of the artists performing in ECOS 2025, this edition will once again feature strategic international collaborations resulting from synergies built in recent years: the Brighton Early Music Festival (United Kingdom), the Semana de Música Antigua de Estella (Navarre), the International Young Artist Presentation (Antwerp), and the S-EEEMERGING project funded by the European Union. Ensembles such as Cantoría, co-organiser of the festival; Anacronía, also linked to ECOS; and the University of Murcia Orchestra will participate to ensure that the festival maintains the high quality of previous editions.

Survival of the ECOS Festival of Sierra Espuña

ECOS is a festival made possible by the support of numerous institutions and companies. It stands as an example of a public-private partnership that has resulted in a cultural and tourism product bringing the name of the Region of Murcia and the “Sierra Espuña Territory” to many corners of Europe.

The organisers are committed to the festival’s sustainable growth, aligned with the resources pledged by the organising entities and the continuation of central and regional government support through cultural industry funding programmes.

The Ministry of Culture, through the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), has renewed its support for the festival, increasing its funding compared to previous years and recognising ECOS as an event that champions cultural decentralisation and territorial uniqueness. However, the Government of the Region of Murcia has yet to confirm its support for the 2025 edition and, in the last edition, reduced its contribution by more than 60% compared to 2023.

This reduction in financial resources has caused delays in organising the event, leading to its postponement until November. Even so, work continues with all partners to secure stable and sufficient resources to guarantee the festival’s future.

Corporate sponsorship from companies such as El Pozo, Iberchem, and Autocares Espuña has also been essential for the festival’s consolidation. Thanks to this support, albeit with some adjustments, the ECOS Festival will remain committed to offering high-quality, sustainable tourism in the “Sierra Espuña Territory,” with innovative programming rooted in the area’s identity and natural heritage, while also stimulating the local economy.

ECOSistema Sierra Espuña

We want to build a community of people who love early music and nature around the Sierra Espuña area.

We’re looking for friends, collaborators, volunteers, micro-patrons, artists, artisans, and more, to receive early information, participate in exclusive events, and get personalized offers.

The Regenerative Culture ECOS project (Early Music Project Association) has received funding through the “Competitive Grants for Expanding and Diversifying Cultural Offerings in Non-Urban Areas, from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR)” provided by the Institute of Cultural Industries and Arts of the Region of Murcia.

This plan has helped boost various activities aimed at stimulating cultural dynamism in rural areas, focusing on sustainability, diversity, modernization, internationalization of the Region of Murcia’s brand, and addressing demographic challenges.

I want to know more

ECOS Festival received the REMA Award in Dublin for ‘Best Artist Development Program’. The award recognized its ECOS Labs, an initiative that started in 2020 due to the pandemic and was revived in the 6th edition of the festival thanks to the University of Murcia.

Through this award, the ECOS Sierra Espuña Festival shows its commitment to emerging ensembles, young talent, and internationalization. ECOS Labs is a program developed by Jorge Losana and David Gutiérrez.

ECOS Festival of Sierra Espuña, organized by Early Music Project along with the Sierra Espuña Tourist Consortium and the University of Murcia, has been held annually since 2017 during the summer in the Region of Murcia, specifically in the municipalities of Aledo, Alhama de Murcia, Librilla, Mula, Pliego, and Totana.

The festival aims to achieve high musical quality by attracting music professionals both nationally and internationally, enhance the tourism and cultural offerings of the Region of Murcia, and promote the value of local and regional heritage.

ECOS features a blend of concerts, nature, heritage, children’s activities, and tourism experiences centered around early music. Additionally, it includes ECOS Labs, a series of educational and supplementary activities designed to attract young professionals specializing in early music from around the world, providing them with tools to facilitate their integration into the international music circuit.

ECOS Festival collaborates with Juventudes Musicales de España and is part of Festclásica, the Spanish Association of Classical Music Festivals, as well as REMA, the European Early Music Network, which brings together the most important international festivals, making ECOS the sixth Spanish member. Albert Edelman, president of REMA, described the ECOS Festival as “a young festival with innovative ideas, essential for the cultural development of European regions.

ECOS is much more than a festival: it’s a gathering of sensations and sounds that, set against a stunning natural and historical backdrop, becomes a unique experience.

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