Valais State Council Honors the Sion Festival
The Valais Culture and Economy Award honors an event that contributes to the development of both culture and the economy. This year, it goes to the Sion Festival.
With this award, the classical music festival in Sion is awarded a grant of 20,000 francs. The Valais State Council thereby recognizes the quality and exemplary nature of the festival’s productions and events, its international reach, the event’s lasting impact, its cultural and economic effects on Valais, and its sound and sustainable funding model.
The festival is the legacy of a musical tradition spanning more than 60 years, founded by the Hungarian violinist Tibor Varga. Since May 2017, the three events founded by Tibor Varga—the Music Academy, the Sion Festival, and the International Violin Competition—have been united under the Fondation Sion Violon Musique (SVM). In 2018, a junior competition was also added to this structure, dedicated to fostering the next generation of musicians and upholding the highest artistic standards.
