Who are we?
Jordi Gaya horn
Born in Espluga Bald (Lleida) in 1990, he began his musical studies in the Boys Choir of Montserrat under the tutelage of Manel Barea. He continued them at the Conservatory of Lleida, studying horn with Rafa Policarpo and David Bonet. He later finished his studies at the ESMUC (Superior Conservatory of Music of Catalonia) with Jose Vicente Castelló, David Fernandez and Javier Bonet. He has participated in master classes led by Will Sanders, Luca Benucci, Hermann Bauman, Dale Clevenger, and Sarah Willis. He has participated in orchestras such as JOP (Youth Orchestra of the Ponent), JOIC (Interregional Youth Orchestra), JOSG (Youth Orchestra of the Geronan Region), Orchestra del Sol, Berguedá Orchestra, Noquera Orchestra, ESMUC Orchestra, Lleida Band, and Alfarràs Band. He has collaborated with the OBC (Barcelona Symphony Orchestra) and recently participated in the musical Les Miserables. Currently he appears in the orchestra for Taxi at the Catalonian National Theatre (TNC).
Irene Recolons flute
She started studying flute at age 7 with Fedra Borràs . Later, she continued her studies at the Conservatory of Badalona under Jaume Cortadellas and Ramon Vilalta , obtaining Honorable Mention at the completion of her undergraduate training. She immediately began to study with Christian Farroni at the Superior Conservatory of Music of the Liceu. She has also studied music pedagogy at the University of Barcelona. She is a member of the Badalona Symphonic Band and the Barcelona Flute Band, where she was featured as a soloist during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. She has taken lessons from Daniela Koch, Elizabeth Souto, Vicens Prats, Bernat Castillejo, Yolanda Gonzalez, Claude Lefebvre, and Paco Varoch. She has also attended master classes given by Emmanuel Pahud, Aldo Baert, Alvaro Octavio, Philippe Bernold, and Omar Acosta, among others. She has been coached in chamber music by Paul Cortese, Catherine Ordronneau, Josep Surinyac, Philippe Vallet, and Magdalena Barrera. She has been a member of the Symphony Orchestra of the Liceu Conservatory and the OSMO (Monzón Symphony Orchestra). As a singer, she participated in the first National Youth Chorus of Catalonia where she was a featured soloist in the summer tour of 2013. Interested in education and teaching, she combines her studies with teaching flute, music theory, and chamber music at the Casp School of Music. She is also part of the organization La Flautada, a meeting of regional flutists.
Alicia Urzaiz clarinet
With a degree in the Humanities from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), she completed a degree in clarinet studying with Carles Pertegaz, Josep Fuster, Isaac Rodriguez, Francesc Navarro, also taking classes from Michel Lethiec and Yves Didier. She has long been a member of bands (Catalan Federation of Music Societies, among others). She is a member the JOC (Youth Orchestra of the Cerdanyola) as well as the Symphony Orchestra of the Liceu Conservatory, and recently the OFI (Orchestra of Iberian Groups). As a musician she is part of the dance group l’Esbart Dansaire Sant Marçal performing traditional music and popular Catalan folkloric music. In the area of teaching, she has taught for many years now both music and humanities subjects at the Baccalaureate level. She is currently completing a Master of Education in Teacher Training, Secondary and Higher Education, Vocational Training and Language Teaching.
Marta Vara oboe
Born in Lleida on August 17, 1990, she began her musical studies at age 6 obtaining the Intermediate Level degree (2008) at the Conservatory of Music of Lleida where she studied oboe with Encarna Monzó. In 2009 she began studying with Xavier Blanch and Dolors Chiralt at the ESMUC (Superior Conservatory of Music of Catalonia) specializing in oboe and English horn. She graduated in June of 2013 at the age of 22. She has participated in master classes led by Jaime Gonzalez, Domenique Orlando, Fabien Thouand and Klauss König . From 2005 has participated in several professional and youth orchestras, including JONC (Catalan National Youth Orchestra), JOP (Youth Orchestra of the Ponent), JOIC (Interregional Youth Orchestra), the Municipal Band of Lleida, OBC (Barcelona Symphony Orchestra), and the Orchestra Julia Carbonell. She was awarded several chamber music prizes between 2005 and 2007 and participated in several international music festivals. She currently combines nursing school with JAMIN and teaching as a professor of oboe and music theory at the Cornellà School of Music and BCN Fusió.
Noé Cantú bassoon
He has been a bassoonist of the OBC (Barcelona Symphony Orchestra) for the last 12 seasons. He studied with Benjamin Kamins (Houston), Norman Herzberg (Los Angeles), and William Buchman (Chicago). He received fellowships for the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, California), the Tanglewood Music Center (Lennox, Massachusetts) and the Bach Aria Festival and Institute (Stonybrook, New York), among others. He has collaborated with the San Diego and Chicago Symphony Orchestras and was principal bassoonist for the Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew (Pacific Palisades, California) for 10 seasons. He is a seasoned chamber musician having participated in numerous groups such as the reed trio Triole (sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts), the Nicolas Consort (soprano, flute, bassoon, piano/organ/harpsichord) as well as numerous at the Auditori of Barcelona with other musicians of the OBC. He is an amateur photographer. His gallery can be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/noecantu.