LUDOVIC MORLOT

Principal director of the OBC

Ludovic Morlot takes over as Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra in September 2022, conducting a minimum of 11 weeks a season with the orchestra.

Morlot’s élan, elegance and intensity on stage have endeared him to audiences and orchestras worldwide, from the Berlin Philharmonic to the Boston Symphony. During his 8 years as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony he pushed the boundaries of traditional concert programming, winning several Grammys.

He is now Conductor Emeritus in Seattle, and in 2019 he was appointed Associate Artist of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with whom he has had a close relationship over many years; he returns to both orchestras every season. He was Artistic Director and a founding member of the National Youth Orchestra of China 2017-2021, conducting their inaugural concerts at Carnegie Hall and in China in 2017, and touring with them to Europe in 2019. From 2012-2014 he was Chief Conductor of La Monnaie, conducting new productions in Brussels and at the Aix Easter Festival - including La Clemenza di Tito, Jenufa and Pelléas et Mélisande.

Morlot has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw, the Czech Philharmonic, the Dresden State Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, as well as many of America's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras. Morlot has a very close connection to Boston: he won the Seiji Ozawa conducting scholarship at the Tanglewood Festival and was later appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has conducted the orchestra in subscription concerts in Boston, Tanglewood and on a tour of the West Coast of the United States. He has also performed many times in Asia and Australia, specifically with the Seoul Philharmonic, the Yomiuri Japanese Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at the Edinburgh and Aspen festivals, the BBC Proms and Wien Modern.

His tenure in Seattle formed a hugely significant period in the musical journey of the orchestra. His innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. There were numerous collaborations with musicians from different genres, commissions and world premieres. Some of these projects, including John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Violin Concerto performed by James Ehnes and an exploration of Dutilleux’s music, have earned the orchestra five Grammy Awards, as well as the distinction of being named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. Morlot has released 19 recordings with the Seattle Symphony Media label which was launched in 2014.

Morlot opened the 21-22 season with a concert version of Die Walküre (The Valkyries) by Wagner at the Seattle Opera and also conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Seattle, Utah, and Sao Paulo in subscription concerts. In Europe he has been invited by the Philharmonic of the Netherlands, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the Lille National Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Birmingham City Symphony Orchestra, the Castile and Leon Orchestra and, obviously, that of Barcelona. He is very committed to helping emerging talent and often directs students at the Colburn Conservatory. He was a juror at the Leeds International Piano Competition and directed students at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the New England Conservatory (Boston) and his annual visit to the Aspen Festival. In the summer of 2021, he has conducted a series of world premieres by young composers at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's annual CONE Institute concert.

Trained as a violinist, he studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School (USA) with Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo. He continued his education in London at the Royal Academy and then at the Royal College as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship. Ludovic is Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle and a Visiting Artist at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014 in recognition of his significant contribution to music.

ludovicmorlot.com

Stephanie Childress

Principal guest director of the OBC

Strong ideas, lucid communication and intensely focused energy are among the qualities that define the Franco-British conductor as she continues to make her mark in both the symphonic and operatic repertoires. Childress spent much of the autumn of the 2023/24 season with the latter, making her debut at the Hamburg Staatsoper with a revival of David Bösch’s production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail before returning to Glyndebourne to conduct Mariame Clément’s production of Don Giovanni. Following the success of Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne last autumn, Opera Today commented that ‘it’s in the pit where this Don Giovanni is given exceptional life, with Stephanie Childress directing the Glyndebourne Sinfonia and revealing herself to be a Mozartian to her fingertips. She illuminates felicitous detail with well-judged pacing and a fine ear for balance.’

An impressive 2023/24 season includes debut performances with, among others, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as returns to the Barcelona Symphony and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras. She will also conduct Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves for Detroit Opera and close her season in July by making her debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Highlights in previous seasons have included concerts with l’Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, New World Symphony Orchestra as well as l’Orchestre de Paris and the London Symphony Orchestra. Childress recently concluded a three-year term as assistant conductor to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra where she conducted a number of subscription concerts, as well as leading performances with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. Previously, she was also awarded 2nd prize at the inaugural competition ‘La Maestra’ at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2020.

A passionate advocate for amplifying the role of music within today’s world, Childress previously undertook an artistic residence at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. She is also a member of the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program, a scheme created by the Franco-British Council to further cooperation across both sides of the Channel. Stephanie is an active supporter of the Tri-borough Music Hub, an award-winning organisation for music education. She has taken part in several programmes with the association, including leading the junior string ensemble at an ‘Artists for Inclusivity’ event and speaking at the Youth Music Conference 2020 held at the Royal College of Music.

stephaniechildress.com

AGATA ZAJAC

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE OBC

Agata Zając is a Polish conductor. She started her musical path as a violinist, and then completed her conducting studies at the Poznań Academy of Music in Poland. In the last artistic season, Agata was the Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. At the beginning of 2023 she was awarded 2nd prize and audience vote at the Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition and was appointed Assistant Conductor to Ludovic Morlot in the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra for the 2023/24 season. Agata is a former Resident Conductor of the Toruń Symphony Orchestra (2020/21) and Sudeten Philharmonic Orchestra (2021/22) in Poland. She has already worked with many international orchestras, including BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Britten Sinfonia, Grazer Philharmoniker, Orchestre national de Metz, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia, NOSPR in Katowice, Warsaw Chamber Opera and Poznań Philharmonic.

Agata participated in many conducting masterclasses and was mentored by prominent teachers such as Paavo Järvi, Marin Alsop, Johannes Schlaefli, Jorma Panula, Mark Heron and Peter Eötvös. She was a student of the Tonhalle Conductors’ Academy 2022/23, Gstaad Conducting Academy 2021 and NOSPR Conducting Academy 2021. Agata will spend the summer of 2023 at the Tanglewood Music Festival as a Conducting Fellow working with Boston Symphony Orchestra and their Music Director, Andris Nelsons.

She was invited to many international competitions and auditions – at the Malta International Conducting Masterclass & Competition (2018) and International Conducting Competition Città di Brescia (2021) she received special distinctions. She also participated in the last Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, where she reached the semi-finals and had the opportunity to rehearse with London Symphony Orchestra. In 2018 Agata was awarded with a scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in Poland.

agatazajac.com

Jakub Przybycien

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE OBC

Jakub Przybycień is a Polish conductor and violinist. Having grown up in the orchestra, he stands out above all for his excellent understanding of the orchestral perspective. Musicians from orchestras all over the world appreciate his energetic and charismatic manner. His clear character and musical ideas inspire audiences and musicians wherever he performs and leave a lasting impression.

For the season 2023/24 Jakub Przybycień is appointed as conducting assistant of Maestro Ludovic Morlot by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia as well as Mills Williams Junior Fellow in Conducting at the RNCM in Manchester.

In March 2023 Jakub was a finalist of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, where he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra during the final concert. In 2022 he was a finalist of the masterclasses with the Critical Orchestra Berlin. During the Gstaad Conducting Academy 2021 he was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize.

Jakub Przybycień currently works as an assistant of Professors Johannes Schlaefli and Christoph-Mathias Mueller, with whom he is completing his Master's in Specialized Music Performance at the Zürich University of the Arts. He is also the principal conductor of the Zürcher Orchester Sozietät and a scholarship holder of the Forum Dirigieren.

To further develop his musical and technical skills as a conductor, Jakub Przybycień has already participated in several master classes led by eminent conductors such as Neeme, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi, Marin Alsop, Jaap van Zweden, Peter Eötvös, Jorma Panula and Michael Sanderling. He has worked with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, the Ensemble Ars Nova, the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Kritisches Orchester Berlin, the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, the Philharmonie Hradec Králové, the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie and the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra. This season Jakub Przybycień will be working with the Balthasar Neumann Ensembles and the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jakub Przybycień's musical education began at the age of six with playing the violin. During his career as a violinist, he has won awards at many national and international violin competitions. His many achievements include being accepted into the prestigious European Union Youth Orchestra, where he worked with and learned from outstanding musicians such as Maestro Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Lorenza Borrani. From 2014-2019 he studied violin with Professor Monika Urbaniak Lisik at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern (CH). He completed both his Bachelor's and Master's degree with distinction. While still being a violin student, he began to pursue his career as a conductor. He earned his Bachelor's degree in orchestral conducting with distinction at the Academy of Music in Wrocław (PL) with Professor Marek Pijarowski. Jakub Przybycień completed his Master's studies in the world-renowned conducting class of Professor Johannes Schlaefli at the Zurich University of the Arts.

jakubprzybycien.com

MUSICIANS

FIRST VIOLINS

Vlad Stanculeasa, concertmaster
Jaha Lee, associate concertmaster
Raúl García, assistant concertmaster
N.N., assistant concertmaster
Sarah Bels
Walter Ebenberger
Ana Isabel Galán
Zabdiel Hernández
Natalia Mediavilla
Lev Mikhailovskii
Katia Novell
Ivan Percevic
Maria Pilar Perez
Jordi Salicrú
N.N.
N.N.

SECOND VIOLINS

Alexandra Presaizen, principal
N.N., principal
Emil Bolozan, assistant
Maria Jose Aznar
Maria Jose Balaguer
Jana Brauninger
Patricia Bronisz
Alzy Kim
Mireia Llorens
Melita Murgea
Laura Pastor
Ícar Solé
Robert Tomàs

VIOLAS

N.N., principal
N.N., principal
Noemí Fúnez, assistant
David Derrico
Josephine Fitzpatrick
Franck Heudiard
Christine de Lacoste
Sophie Lasnet
Miquel Serrahima
Jennifer Stahl
Andreas Süssmayr
Adrià Trulls

cellos

Charles-Antoine Archambault, principal
José Mor, principal
Blai Bosser, assistant
Irene Cervera
Lourdes Duño
Vincent Ellegiers
Marc Galobardes
Olga Manescu
Jean-Baptiste Texier
N.N.

double basses

Luis Cabrera, principal
Christoph Rahn, principal
Dmitri Smyshlyaev, assistant
Jonathan Camps
Apostol Kosev
Josep Mensa
Matthew Nelson
Albert Prat

flutes

Francisco López, principal
Beatriz Cambrils
Christian Farroni, assistant
Ricardo Borrull, piccolo

Oboes

Rafael Muñoz, principal
Jose Juan Pardo
Dolors Chiralt, assistant
Disa English, english horn

clarinets

Larry Passin, principal
Francesc Navarro
Josep Fuster, assistant and clarinet in E b
Alfons Reverté, bass clarinet

bassoons

Silvia Coricelli, principal
Noé Cantú
Thomas Greaves, Assistant
Slawomir Krysmalski, contrabassoon

Horns

Juan Manel Gómez, principal
Joan Aragó
Juan Conrado García, assistant soloist
David Bonet
Pablo Marzal, assistant
Artur Jorge

trumpets

Mireia Farrés, principal
Miguel Herráez
Angel Serrano, assistant
Adrian Moscardó

trombones

Eusebio Sáez, principal
Vicent Pérez
Gaspar Montesinos, assistant
Raul García, bass trombone

Tuba

Daniel Martinez

Timpani

David Montoya, principal

percussion

Joan Marc Pino, assistant
Juan Francisco Ruiz
Ignasi Vila

Harp

Magdalena Barrera

ORCHESTRA MANAGER

Walter Ebenberger

PLANNING DIRECTOR

María Marí

HEAD OF THE ARTISTIC DEPARTMENT

Montserrat Grau Llobet

ADMINISTRATION

Núria Torrens, planning director assistant
Leticia Martin, external recruitment
Jose Sanchís, artístic production
Mercè J. Puertas, administrative
Begoña Pérez, archivist
Ignasi Valero, technical manager
Luís Hernández, stage manager

Social commitment

The social project is a fundamental part of the OBC's activity and that is why we work to bring symphonic music closer to those people in vulnerable situations in collaboration with Apropa Cultura. To enjoy these activities you must be a social center registered in the program Apropa Cultura.

An activity of L'Auditori with the support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through Interreg V-In Spain, France, Andorra (POCTEFA 2014-2020).

Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

Auditions

Open selection processes: