2025 BMF International Music Festival for the Blind at the UNESCO House in Paris, France

2025 BMF Int'l Music Festival for the Blind at the UNESCO House in Paris, France
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 7 PM
Venue: UNESCO House, Room I (Main Auditorium)
Address: 125 avenue de Suffren, Paris 7th, France

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The 2025 BMF International Music Festival for the Blind will take place in the Main Auditorium (Room I) at UNESCO House in Paris on September 16, 2025, as part of the world’s first classical music festival series dedicated exclusively to blind musicians. Under the patronage of UNESCO, the festival celebrates the artistic excellence of blind musicians and promotes hope, unity, and inclusion through music.

For the official listing, please visit the UNESCO Calendar of Cultural Events at Headquarters: https://www.unesco.org/en/event/bmf-international-music-festival-blind-0?hub=68184

Renowned blind artists—including jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker (USA), guitarist Ioana Gandrabur (Canada), soprano Valérie Poisson (Canada), and pianist Yerko Difonis (Chile)—will perform alongside the BMF International Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble of outstanding professional musicians from around the world, conducted by Helen Cha-Pyo.

Program:

• SERGEI LYAPUNOV: Piano Concerto No. 2 in E Major, Op. 38
  Yerko Difonis, piano
• JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: Concierto de Aranjuez – II. Adagio*
  Ioana Gandrabur, guitar
• VINCENZO BELLINI: “O quante volte” from I Capuleti e i Montecchi
  Valérie Poisson, soprano
• GEORGE GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue
  Matthew Whitaker, piano
• FELIX MENDELSSOHN – Chi Gook Kim: Symphony No. 5 in D Major “Reformation” – IV. Andante con moto – Allegro maestoso
  BMF International Symphony Orchestra & Choir, Helen H. Cha-Pyo, conductor
  Soloists: Matthew Whitaker, Ioana Gandrabur, Yerko Difonis, Valérie Poisson, Sabina Kim, SeongYoung Moon, and Hyong S. Jo

A special highlight will feature Chi Gook Kim, a blind composer and Berklee College of Music faculty member, conducting his own arrangement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 finale—uniting orchestra, choir, and soloists in a powerful expression of collective harmony.

The festival will be broadcast worldwide via UNESCO – Live Event: https://webcast.unesco.org/events/2025-09-BMF, and covered by major international media. Invitations have been extended to representatives of UNESCO’s 194 Member States and the Secretariat, underscoring the event’s global significance.

Attendance Information:
This is a free, invitation-only event. To attend, please register through the official link: https://BMF2025UNESCO.eventbrite.com. Be sure to bring a valid photo ID and the QR code you receive upon registration. Your full name and date of birth, exactly as shown on your ID or passport, will be required for entry to UNESCO House in Paris.

We look forward to welcoming you to Paris for this historic celebration of music, diversity, and inclusion.
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Join the 2025 BMF Friends & Sponsors Club to support this exceptional festival today by clicking here: Donate - Bella Music Foundation (for the Blind)

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The photo slideshow above includes images of the BMF festival poster, a screenshot from the UNESCO website displaying the BMF festival event in their Cultural Events calendar, a photo of the Main Auditorium at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and performance photos from the April 28th festival in Fort Lee, NJ, USA. Below is the highlight video from the 2024 BMF Music Festival for the Blind, held on April 28, 2024, in the U.S.