The first meeting of Maestros, “Bras Bands and Azorean Traditional Music”, took place in Ponta Delgada, between April 30 and May 3, simultaneously with the celebration of Santo Cristo dos Milagres.

This initiative was promoted by the Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores, through the Regional Department of the Communities, and joined 28 maestros from the Azorean Communities abroad, nine coming from Canada (Winnipeg, London, Vancouver, Leamington, Laval, Gatineau, Cambridge and Edmonton) and the rest from the United States of America (San Jose, East Providence, Pawtucket, Chino, Bristol, Providence, Tracy, Novato, Newark of California, Fall River, Peabody, Santa Clara, San Leandro, New Bedford, Newark of New Jersey and Escalon).

This event had the objective of giving all the participants the opportunity of sharing their experiences and projects, as well as of debating ideas and, at the same time, studying solutions for common technical problems.