Joan Pons is new artistic director of Pollensa Festival

He said that he would try to maintain and raise the standards of the festival so that its 50th anniversary will be “a resounding success.” He was speaking at a Press conference, accompanied by Balearic tourism minister Francesc Buils, Mayor of Pollensa Joan Cerdà and councillor Biel Cerdà, who co-ordinates the festival.

Pons, who will be singing in the Festival tonight, said that taking over the reins of what he described as the biggest cultural event in the Balearics was ”an honour and a pleasure.” Opera will play a more important role in the festival over the next few years, given his involvement in this field, he revealed.
The culture minister said that Pons would be a magnificent representative of music on the islands.
The Mayor said that two years had passed since the death of violinist Eugen Prokov, who had been the Festival's artistic director for 39 years, and it was necessary to choose a new director. He praised the work of the Festival Board which had maintained standards over the two years.

The Pollensa Festival was created in 1962 by British violinist Philip Newman. It is a member of the Association Européenne des Festivals.