The Conservatory, with over 300 students and currently housed in the Palacio de la Música, will move to new facilities spanning more than 3,700 square meters.
The Torrevieja City Council is finalizing administrative procedures with the Education Ministry to relocate the “Francisco Casanovas” Professional Music Conservatory from the Palacio de la Música in the city centre to a new 3,700+ square meter facility near the International Auditorium and the Quirón private hospital in the La Hoya area. These buildings were constructed 15 years ago by the Valencian government for an international conservatory that never opened.
Optimistically, the council aims to complete the move by January 2026, according to Culture Councillor Antonio Quesada. Administratively, the relocation must be treated as a new school, with a new name: Conservatorio de Música “Conchita Boj.” The move will be compatible with UNED university activities, which are planned to relocate to a new building in 2026/2027 along with branches of Miguel Hernández University and the University of Alicante.
Located over 2.5 kilometres from the city centre, the new site will provide transport options similar to other municipal services, though most students currently commute by private car from surrounding neighbourhoods and nearby towns. The conservatory employs around 20 municipal teachers and plans to expand course offerings at the new location.
Demand for conservatory places exceeds supply, requiring entrance exams for most students, except for seven-year-olds. Many students are from the local Russian and Ukrainian communities, for whom musical education is culturally important. Vacated spaces at the Palacio de la Música will be repurposed for local cultural organizations and rehearsal spaces.
The buildings designated for the conservatory were completed in 2011 for an international music school but were never inaugurated. The complex, which also houses the Auditorium, cost over €50 million and temporarily hosted other educational institutions and the Torrevieja Symphony Orchestra. The city regained full control of the site in 2021 after a 15-year lease from the Generalitat.
The facility includes classrooms for choir, orchestra, instrumental and collective lessons, music chamber practice, sound and video libraries, an electroacoustic lab, and dance studios. Quesada acknowledged parental concerns over sporadic teacher absences but confirmed that absenteeism is monitored and comparable to other municipal departments.
