ABOUT CON BRIO, JOHN GOMES & FURTADOS
THE FOUNDATION
The Furtados Group and the Gomes family have long championed the cause of Western music development. While the Con Brio Festival has been the most significant event in the annual calendar, other projects include outreach programmes, event collaborations and sponsorships, education projects, seminars and workshops, and teacher support and professional development. With the creation of the Furtados Con Brio Foundation, Con Brio embarks on a new chapter in its evolution and provides the group with many further avenues of collaboration, support and outreach within the music community of the country. The Foundation very much continues to remain a testament to John Gomes and will further his legacy and already innumerable contributions.
Shirish Malhotra (flute), Marialena Fernandes (piano), Jasiel Peter (double bass) and Praveen Karkare (tabla) perform Claude Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio at Con Brio 2016.
JOHN GOMES
John Gomes, the dedicatee of Con Brio, through his print music and musical instrument shops, Furtados, played a significant role in the development and promotion of Western music and music education in India. Despite an inconducive climate for the business of Western musical instruments and printed music in the 1960s and 1970s and the complete prohibition of imports of musical instruments during this period, John persevered with the music business. Thanks to his efforts, access to the basic ingredients required for Western Classical Music to flourish was maintained.
FURTADOS
The music house of Furtados leaves no stone unturned in supporting the activies of musicians in India. They provide the highest quality musical instruments and are the exclusive dealers for Steinway & Sons in India. They also provide maintenance support for these instruments, including the Furtados Piano Restoration Centre which has technicians of international standards. Furtados School of Music, India's leading music education company, was launched in 2011 with an aim to inculcate the culture of music in every individual across the country and currently has over 75,000 students around India. In addition, Furtados remains the country's most popular desination for music books and also conducts music examinations in several cities.