Josep Pons (born Josep Pons i Viladomat; 1957) is a Spanish
conductor.
Biography
Pons was born in
Puig-reig
Puig-reig () is a municipality and town in the comarca of Berguedà , Catalonia. As of 2009, the town had a population of 4,403.
Atop a hill overlooking the Llobregat
The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the ...
,
BerguedÃ
Berguedà () is an inland comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression.
Geography
The northern half of Berguedà , known as Alt Berguedà (“Upper Berguedà †...
. He received his musical training at
L'Escolania de Montserrat and continued his musical studies in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
with such teachers as
Josep Soler i SardÃ
Josep Soler i Sardà (25 March 1935 – 9 October 2022) was a Catalonian/Spanish composer, writer, music theorist, and one of the main Catalan members of the Generación del 51. Life and career
Soler i Sardà was born in Vilafranca del Penedès ...
(composition) and
Antoni Ros-Marbà Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fe ...
(conducting).
In 1985, Pons founded the ''Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure'' (Chamber Orchestra of the Teatre Lliure). He directed the Coral CÃ rmina from 1988 to 1990. He was the musical director for the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos OlÃmpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs OlÃmpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV OlimpÃada) and commonly known as ...
. Pons was the first artistic director of the ''Jove Orquestra Simfònica de Catalunya'', later the ''Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya'', from 1993 to 2001. He was principal conductor of the
City of Granada Orchestra (''Orquesta Ciudad de Granada'') from 1994 to 2004. In 2003, he became artistic director and principal conductor of the
Spanish National Orchestra The Orquesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Orchestra) is a symphonic orchestra that is based in Madrid, Spain.
History
Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the mergin ...
. In October 2010, the
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
* Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
announced the appointment of Pons as its next music director, as of September 2012, for an initial contract of 6 years. In November 2017, the Liceu announced the extension of Pons' contract through the 2021-2022 season. In July 2021, the Liceu announced a further extension of Pons' contract through the 2025-2026 season.
Pons has conducted commercial recordings for such labels as harmonia mundi.
His honours include the City of Barcelona Award (1992) of the Cultural Institute of the City Council and the National Prize for Music (1999) granted by the Ministry of Culture.
References
External links
HarrisonParrott agency page on Josep Pons*
ttps://www.liceubarcelona.cat/ca/orquestra-director Liceu biography of Josep Pons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pons, Josep
1957 births
Living people
Spanish conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Conductors (music) from Catalonia
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century male musicians
Spanish male musicians