CARMINA BURANA

The National Classical Orchestra of Andorra (ONCA) started out in 1993 as a string orchestra under the direction of the Andorran violinist Gerard Claret, one of the driving forces behind its creation and its concertmaster until 2020. It is managed by the ONCA Foundation, a body made up of the Government of Andorra and the Crèdit Andorrà Foundation, which are the trustees. Albert Gumí – a musician, composer and conductor – took up the artistic director role in 2021. In January 2026, Joan Anton Rechi became the artistic director of the ONCA Foundation. 

In 2003, ONCA signed a collaboration agreement with the Teatre Auditori Sant Cugat and the Victòria dels Àngels Municipal School of Music in Sant Cugat del Vallès. In the 2004-2005 season, in collaboration with the Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Catalana Foundation, began the cycle of chamber concerts at the Petit Palau, which would continue until 2020.

In November 2004, it was awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi by the Government of Catalonia.

In 2006, ONCA began its activity in a classical orchestra format, which it combined with that of chamber orchestra.

Throughout its history, ONCA has been conducted by prominent figures such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, on his 80th birthday, as well as by J. Casas, A. Ros Marbà, S. Brotons, David Brophy and Edmond Colomer, among others. Since 2006, Marzio Conti has served as principal conductor of productions in classical orchestra format, carrying out intense and decisive work to consolidate the ensemble's symphonic repertoire. He has conducted the orchestra at several prestigious festivals, both in the Principality of Andorra and abroad. ONCA has performed in Andorra, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Portugal, and has acquired noteworthy status on the international music scene. In 2007, commissioned by the ONCA Foundation, Conti conducted the premiere of Symphony No. 2, Andorrana (2007), by Sergio Rendine.

ONCA has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists such as N. Yepes, V. dels Àngels, Ll. Claret, J. P. Rampal, C. Arimany, J. Achucarro, J. Bros, L. Nucci, J. Carreras, G. Sebok, J. Aragall, M. Barrueco, C. Veloso, S. Rinaldi, B. Hendricks, C. Nunez, Nina, Ll. Fortuny, Amaral, S. Pérez Cruz and Love of Lesbian, among others.

The orchestra has recorded works by Catalan composers such as Toldrà, Montsalvatge, Casals, Turina, Rodrigo, Manén, Lamote de Grignon and Guinovart. It has also premiered Gemini (1998), by Cervelló; Tres reflexos sobre una pastoral d’hivern (2003), by Montsalvatge; and Symphony No. 2, Andorrana (2007), by Rendine, which it has also recorded for the Foundation.

In 2023, it celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Since its foundation in 1994, the Youth Orchestra of Galicia has allowed hundreds of young instrumentalists to complete their musical training by participating in operatic shows and symphonic concerts, under the tutelage of conductors such as Alberto Zedda, Dima Slobodeniouk, James Judd, Pietro Rizzo, Michael Gilbert, Víctor Pablo Pérez, James Ross, Diego García Rodríguez, José Trigueros and Joan Company, among others.

The Youth Orchestra has participated as a pit orchestra at the Mozart Festival in A Coruña, where, under the direction of Alberto Zedda, it performed the opera Los amores de Apolo y Dafne, an album of which was released in the Naxos label's catalogue. It has also shared the stage with the Galician Symphony Orchestra (OSG) in major projects such as Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler, Pini di Roma by Ottorino Respighi and the Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss, and has performed symphony concerts in Madrid, San Sebastián, Murcia, Valencia, León, Segovia and Jerez.

In 2022, the Youth Orchestra participated in the Granada International Music and Dance Festival, where it offered an acclaimed Tribute to John Williams at the Palacio de Carlos V. In 2023, it accompanied trumpeter Pacho Flores and, in August 2024, performed with Diana Navarro in a free concert held on 22 August, directed by Julio Awad. In January 2025, the principal conductor of the OSG jointly conducted the Galician Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra in the Alpine Symphony, in a large-scale project with more than a hundred musicians on stage.

Having become one of the most unique educational projects on the Spanish musical scene, the OSG Youth Orchestra represents one of the few real opportunities for introducing future professionals to playing their instrument within a symphony orchestra. Young people receive complete musical training through joint work with the OSG's instrumental teachers, participation in numerous master classes given by great performers – including Midori, Stephan Dohr, Wolfgang Klos, Anne Gastinel, Geneviève Laurenceau and Mario Brunello, among others – and regular contact with the music stand in the three annual events that make up each course, when they tackle a repertoire that ranges from baroque music to contemporary creation.

Throughout more than three decades of history, the Youth Orchestra has also been a real goldmine of musicians, many of whom today carry out their professional activity in some of the world's leading orchestras.

The OSG Choir, founded in 1998, gave its first concert on 21 March of the same year, alongside the OSG School of Orchestral Practice and conducted by James Ross. Currently, the choir is made up of more than 70 voices from all over Galicia. Since its creation, the OSG Choir's artistic activity has been consistent and intense, focusing on symphonic, choral, operatic and a cappella repertoires under the direction of Joan Company, the titular director for twenty-five years and now the honorary director. Carlos Mena is the current artistic director of the OSG choir, as well as the OSG Children's Choir and OSG Youth Choir projects, and Javier Fajardo is the musical director.

The first concert tour outside the Galician community took the choir to the Auditorium in Palma de Mallorca. Since then, it has participated in several editions of the Mozart Festival in A Coruña, the Opera Festival and the Music Festival of A Coruña; in the concert cycles Música en Compostela, O Son das Catedrais and the International Organ Festival of the Cathedral of León, and on various stages and in auditoriums across A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Pontevedra, Vigo, Ferrol, Ourense and others.

In late 2003, the choir went on its first tour abroad, with concerts in the cathedrals of Porto and Lisbon. In addition, it performed for the first time in Barcelona accompanied by the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE), directed by Christopher Hogwood. The choir also sang at the inaugural concert of the 2006-07 season of the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra at the Auditorium in Palma de Mallorca.

In its extensive and varied repertoire, special focus is placed on the symphonic-choral music of Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler – with outstanding performances of his Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 & 8 – Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Puccini, Fauré, Orff, Debussy, Britten, García Abril, Rossini, Stravinsky and others.

In addition, a large proportion of the OSG Choir's activity has been devoted to opera, both in staged versions and in concert versions of great works from the repertoire of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Verdi and Wagner.

This choir was formed in 1996 in the Music School created within the Friends of the Granollers Union Choral Society. Directed by Josep Vila Jover since its formation, this choir of boy sopranos stands out for the quality, eclecticism and uniqueness of its productions. It is currently the resident choir at the Teatre Auditori de Granollers (since 2017).

Veus has participated in numerous international festivals and has won awards in numerous competitions and contests. Among the most recent awards are the one for the best performance of the obligatory song and third prize in the children's category at the 7th Tokyo International Choir Competition (2024), third prize at the 53rd Tolosa Choral Prize (2022), the Josep Anselm Clavé award for the best recording for the album Els Colors del Mar (2018), the Guido de Arezzo recognition (2017), first prize at the 47th Tolosa Choral Prize (2015) and the Silver Rose Bowl at the UER competition Let the Peoples Sing! (2013).

Veus performs regularly on Catalonia's main stages, such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Auditori de Barcelona. Internationally, it has performed at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Philharmonie de Luxembourg, among other venues. It has shared the stage with renowned directors such as Kazushi Ono, Jordi Savall and Gustavo Dudamel.

The choir is regularly invited to participate in prestigious festivals throughout Europe, notably La Folle Journée and Via Aeterna. In addition, it has toured and participated in festivals in Japan, China and the United States.