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The Ministry of Culture reiterated that it will not help talented bassoonist Sofía Obando, who was admitted to Sydney Conservatorium of Music, one of the most prestigious in the world.
Sofía is the first Central American woman to be accepted by the institution and she can’t pay the cost of her studies, amounting to 27,000 dollars a year.
The Ministry has no resources to provide scholarships or support training processes or entire careers. It only has the budget that the institution annually invests on the program she has been part of in the last 7 years. She has an instrument that belongs to the institution (National Institute of Music) with a value of 25,000-30,000 US dollars and she receives an annual grant of 1,200,000 colones,
informed the statement.
It was further suggested that, similar to other people, she can look for another way to be financed. She can get a grant or assistance in other sectors of society. Most talented musicians, students or former students of the INM were able to move on with their careers with partial scholarships. As consequence, they had to work or find other funding sources to pay for their studies.
Sofía assures that some information has been misled and she doesn’t receive any money, the institution only invests on her formation and she, as other musicians, plays for free in cultural activities. She assures she is not demanding anything from authorities, she is just looking for a way to perform recitals and make contacts that can help her.
Sofía’s story, who overcame bacterial meningitis as a child, has touched many hearts and she has started to receive help from people who want her dream to come true.
The talented bassoonist hopes that private companies and individuals trust her talent and enable her to represent Costa Rica in the “big leagues” of music.
If you want to help Sofía to fullfil her dream, you can do so through these accounts:
BCR COLONES: 001- 1806840-5
SINPE: 15202001180684053
BCR DOLLARS: 001-1931774-3
SINPE: 15202001193177435
ID: 1-699-0523