This ‘masterclass’ is aimed at viola and violin players in chamber music formations. The Israeli teacher Rivka Golani – one of the most outstanding contemporary violists – will lead the classes that will culminate in a concert on Friday July 28 at 6 pm in the Sala Gran del Teatre Auditori Felip Pedrell in Tortosa. Students will be admitted through curriculum selection.

RIVKA GOLANI BIOGRAPHY

Rivka Golani is recognized as one of the most outstanding viola players of modern times. Her contributions to the advancement of viola technique have already given her name a place in the history of the instrument and have been a source of inspiration not only for other players but also for the many composers who have been inspired by her mastery to write pieces for the viola, More than 350 works have so far been composed for Rivka, including over 80 concertos, a record matched by no other viola player in history.

Rivka has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s most prominent orchestras: BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Royal Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan, Montreal Symphony, and Sinfonia Toronto, among others. She has played as a soloist three times in the world-renowned Proms, the BBC Promenade concerts in London, including the famous Last Night of the Proms Concert.

What do the critics think of Rivka Golani? James North of America’s Fanfare Magazine, in a glowing appraisal of her work, wrote that she is “carving out a place of her own that no other performer on the instrument can reach.” The Financial Times of London clearly agrees, “Rivka Golani … is a supreme viola virtuoso – white-hot in delivery, kaleidoscopic in tone colours,electrifying in rhythmic attack.” For an even more effusive testimony, the Boston Herald, “… riveting, intensely physical stage presence…hurtling momentum, constant risk-taking, complete technical assurance … one can only be grateful that she dedicated herself to art rather than warfare, for she would be an awesome adversary.”

Finally, a tribute from Geoffrey Crankshaw of Musical Opinion, following a recital at Wigmore Hall, “No nobler music-making could be imagined than this eloquent performance … the grand tradition brought to the service of inspired musical insight.”

Rivka has made countless recordings with many distinguished orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Berne Symphony, Budapest Radio Orchestra, BBC Sinfonietta and others. Landmarks among her many CDs include her world premiere recording on viola of the Elgar Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and a set of the complete Bach Cello Suites which includes performances of Bach’s Chaconne and Chromatic Fantasy.

As artistic director of the Fort MacLeod Music Festival in Alberta, Canada, for seven years, she has developed a special collaborative relationship with the Canadian First Nation Blackfoot. She is the artistic director of the SOWECA Music Festival in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

Born in Israel, Rivka trained at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv with the great violist and composer Oedoen Partos. At the age of 23, she became a member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Rivka moved to Canada in the mid-1970s where she began her solo career. She currently lives in London, England.

She is also an inspiring teacher who draws students from all over the world to her classes at London’s Trinity Laban College of Music and Dance.

Rivka plays a viola made by the renowned instrument maker Otto Erdesz.

As part of Proto-fest 2023, professor Francesc Valldecabres will direct a participatory choral concert with choir and orchestra, in which the poetic musical work ‘Ramon Llull, visions de Randa’ by the composer fron Tortosa Felip Pedrell will be interpreted. To prepare the work —which will be a world premiere— a ‘masterclass’ aimed at professional and ‘amateur’ choirs and also at individual singers has been scheduled. To participate, experience in choirs and/or singing training will be valued.

During the months of June and July, two preliminary rehearsals will be held. On July 2 with Francesc Valldecabres, and on June 10 with the singer Cecília Aymí (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the Sala Arts de Tortosa). From July 24 to 27, during the days of the festival, the singers will join the orchestra to work on the staging with stage manager Mireia Andreu. The final concert is scheduled for Thursday, July 27 at 8:30 p.m. in the Sala Gran del Teatre Auditori Felip Pedrell in Tortosa.

FRANCESC VALLDECABRES BIOGRAPHY 

Francesc studied at the Valencia Music Conservatory, graduating in Orchestra Conducting (M. Galduf, Outstanding Award), Choral Conducting (E. Cifre, Honourable Mention), Improvisation-Accompaniment (E. Montesinos, Honourable Mention) and Harpsichord (R. Madrid). Afterwards he studied master’s degrees in Aesthetics and Creativity of Music at the University of Valencia, Musicology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and Choral Conducting at Rotterdam Conservatory. He obtained a Diploma in Advanced Studies from Aveiro University and has studied further with M. Noone, S. Mas, J. L. Martínez, L. Tao, D. Ham, C. García-Bernalt, N. Peres da Costa, M. Pérès, E. Molina and R. Belda. Francesc has been chosen to give conducting masterclasses by F. Brüggen, with the Orchestra of the 18th Century; and A. van Beek, with the Auvergne Orchestra, organized by De Doelen in Rotterdam. He has collaborated as a co-repeater, continuo player or pianist with the Laurens Collegium in Rotterdam, Turiae Camerata, Laurenscantorij Rotterdam, Ensemble Cabanilles, Codarts Chamber Choir, Ars Musicae Mallorca, La Escaramuza, Orquestra Ciutat de Torrent and the Capella Saetabis. He has also worked as an assistant conductor with the latter and recorded Les Consolations by J. J. Rousseau. He is currently the director of the Música Trobada group and the Orfeó Universitari of València.

Francesc has also worked as a conductor with the Junges Sinfonieorchester orchestra in Hannover, Symphonia Orbitalis, Spanish Brass, the Amores Percussion Group, Perku-Va, Lux Venti, the Països Catalans Choir, the Almodí Chamber Choir, Orquestra Barroca, the Chamber Opera Seminary of the Higher Conservatory of Music in Valencia and the Castello Higher Conservatory of Music, Petits Cantors from Valencia, and the Vilnius University Choir among others. He has worked with soloists like C. Mena, P. Moral, M. Rodríguez-Cusí, F. Oliver, M. L. Corvacho, Ll. Sintes, A. Montserrat, J. Pizarro, and M. del Mar Bonet, etc. He has also prepared choral parts for conductors such as M. Galduf, C. Soler, Á. Albiach, F. Valero-Terribas and R. Tebar, and has worked as the musical director for stage productions with Maria Rovira (Crea Dance Company), J. P. Mendiola, A. Herrero, A. Urieta, I. Luis, etc. His repertoire is varied and ranges from the Ensaladas de Fletxa, and the Requiem and Tenebrae Responsories by Victoria to the Pierrot Lunaire opera by Schoenberg, Stravinsky’s Mass and 

The Wedding, and Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. He also performs some of the most significant choral pieces such as: Verdi, Mozart and Fauré’s Requiems; Stabat Mater by Dvořák; Dido and Aeneas by Purcell; Messiah and Utrecht Te Deum by Handel; Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini; Saint Nicolas by Britten; Kodály’s Missa In Tempore Belli; El Pessebre by Casals; Chichester Psalms and Missa Brevis by Bernstein; and monographic programmes dedicated to Monteverdi, Bach, Brahms, Vivaldi, Schubert, etc. Francesc has also premiered works by F. Coll, F. Carbonell, I. Latorre, R. Pastor and J. V. Fuentes.

He has conducted performances at the Organ Music Cycle at the Palau de la Música concert hall in Valencia, the Valencia Philharmonic Society, the Ensems Festival of Contemporary Music, the International Festival of Early Music in Peniscola, the Liceu Theatre Foyer concert hall in Barcelona, the Notas del Ambigú music cycle at the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid, the Early Music Festival in the Pyrenees, the Vélez Blanco Baroque Music Festival, Religious Music Week in Requena, the Serenates Festival, MusAS, Chamber Music Week in Montserrat, and the International Music Week in Morella. He has also conducted concerts in France, Portugal, Holland, Italy, Germany, Romania, Norway and around Spain. As a conductor or continuo player he has recorded about fifteen records with pieces of music representing the musical heritage of Valencia for music publishers like La Mà de Guido, Ars Harmonica, DBC and SEdeM. He won the Local Studies Award organized by Aldaia council for his research into Pasqual Fuentes Alcàsser -1721-1768-. Alongside Música Trobada he was nominated for the Carles Santos Awards in Valencia in 2018. Regarding teaching, he has formed part of a musical direction team for interdisciplinary didactic recordings and performances. During the 2010-2011 course he worked as a choral teacher at Rotterdam Conservatory. He forms part of the public body of Music and Performing Arts teachers in Valencia and is currently a music teacher at the Catarroja Music Conservatory.

MIREIA ANDREU BIOGRAPHY 
Mireia studied Performing Arts and Stage Direction at the Barcelona Theatre Institute. In 2001 she joined the Carnicería Theatre founded by Rodrigo García where she worked as a direction and production assistant for various plays touring theatres and festivals around Europe.

In 2004 they won the UBU Award for best contemporary performance and production with “Agamennone: volví del supermercado y le dí una paliza a mi hijo” and the UNESCO Award for Best Contemporary Theatre Reality in 2009. She began her own artistic career in the field of video-creation and experimental cinema in 2005. In 2007 she presented her first creation, a mixture of live experimental performance, and video and audio arts.

Since then, Mireia has created and presented ten artistic performances in different festivals and venues around Catalonia such as the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA), Lo Pati Centre of Arts in Amposta, the Pensa Festival of Philosophy in Barcelona, and the A Cel Obert Festival in Tortosa. Her performances and artistic interventions have their roots in creative processes based on a variety of different disciplines such as poetry, philosophy, opera, music and dance, all seen from a critical and contemporary viewpoint.

This ‘masterclass’ is aimed at historic clarinet players. The musician Lorenzo Coppola — professor of historical clarinet at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya — will lead the classes that will culminate in a concert on Sunday, July 30 at 8 p.m. in the cloister of the Royal Colleges of Tortosa. Students will be admitted through curriculum selection.

LORENZO COPPOLA BIOGRAPHY

Lorenzo Coppola studied historical clarinet with Eric Hoeprich at The Hague Royal Conservatory.

He has worked with groups specialized in playing historical instruments such as the Freiburger Barockorchester, Les Arts Florissants, La Petite Bande, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and the La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy ensemble.

Lorenzo has shared his love for chamber music playing with musicians and groups like Andreas Staier, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Hidemi Suzuki, the Kuijken Quartet, the Ensemble Zefiro and Quatuor Terpsycordes.

Together with the pianist Cristina Esclapez, he founded the Ensemble Dialoghi in Barcelona with historical instruments in 2014. Four years later, in 2018, with Harmonia Mundi he released his first CD playing quintets by Mozart and Beethoven for wind instruments and pianoforte.

He has been teaching historical clarinet at the Catalan Higher School of Music (ESMUC) in Barcelona since 2004. He specializes in the study of relationships between music and audiences and the communication of emotions and messages through music.

This ‘masterclass’ is aimed at musicians who want to deepen the study of singing and early music. Pilar Moral—a teacher at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Valencia—will lead the classes that will culminate in a concert on Saturday, July 22 at 8 p.m. in the Sala Polvorí of the Castell de la Suda in Tortosa. Students will be admitted through curriculum selection.

PILAR MORAL BIOGRAPHY

Born in Valencia, Pilar studied singing and obtained the highest grades at the Higher Conservatory of Music in Valencia with Ana Luisa Chova. She went on to perfect her studies in Milan and London where she specialized in opera and Baroque music. She has a master’s degree in Aesthetics and Creativity of Music from Valencia University and a master’s degree in Musical Performance and Research from the International University of Valencia (VIU).

Her stage experience includes roles from different styles and periods in operas like: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas; L’incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi; Salir el amor del mundo by Durón; La púrpura de la rosa by Torrejon y Velasco; The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni by Mozart; Andromaca by Martin i Soler; L’occasione fa il ladro and Il Turco in Italia by Rossini; La sonnambula by Bellini; The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach; Moses und Aron by Schoenberg; Der Kaiser von Atlantis by Ullmann; and the zarzuelas La Tavernera del Puerto by Solozabal and Los Gavilanes by Guerrero at a variety of well-known venues including the Principal Theatre in Castelló, Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao, Baluarte Theatre in Pamplona, ​​Calderón Theatre in Valladolid, Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, Zarzuela

Theatre in Madrid, Maestranza Theatre in Seville, Rosetum Theatre in Milan, the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofía” opera house in Valencia, and the Palacio de los Festivales theatre in Santander among others.

Pilar has sang in concerts at a wide range of venues and events including: the Palau de la Música concert hall in Valencia, Barcelona Auditorium, Galicia Auditorium, the Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada, the International Festival of Music in Granada, the Intern​​ational Festival of Early Music in Peniscola, the Early Music Festival in Aranjuez, the International Organ Festival in Leon, and the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci festival, as well as in other concert halls and festivals in Italy, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Germany and the Philippines, singing Handel’s Messiah, Jephte by Carissimi, Missa Brevis by Haydn, Vivaldi’s Gloria, three Stabat Mater composed by A. Scarlatti, Pergolesi, and Haydn, Rèquiems by Fauré and Mozart respectively, Exsultate, Jubilate by Mozart, and Lobgesang by Mendelssohn, with orchestras such as The Sixteen, OBC, Valencia Orchestra, Collegium Instrumentale, the Balearic Symphonic Orchestra, the City of Granada Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia, and groups and ensembles like Capella de Ministrers, Musica Ficta, Capella Saetabis, Mode Antiquo, Los músicos de Su Alteza, Ensemble La Chimera, Grup Instrumental de València, and Música Trobada, among others.

Pilar has made many recordings of music from different periods and styles. She currently combines her artistic activity with her post as teacher at the Higher Conservatory of Music in Valencia.