Josep Pons (born Josep Pons i Viladomat; 1957) is a Spanish conductor.

Biography

Pons was born in

Puig-reig ; ) is a municipality and town in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia. As of 2009, the town had a population of 4,403. Atop a hill overlooking the Llobregat River, the town includes two medieval fortresses, as well as numer ...

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

. He received his musical training at L'Escolania de Montserrat and continued his musical studies in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

with such teachers as

Josep Soler i Sardà 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 was born in Vilafranca del Penedès, Second ...

(composition) and

Antoni Ros-Marbà Antoni Ros-Marbà (; born 1937 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat) is a Spanish people, Spanish conducting, conductor and composer from Catalonia. He began his musical education at the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona. He studied conducting ...

(conducting). In 1985, Pons founded the ''Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure'' (Chamber Orchestra of the Teatre Lliure). He directed the Coral Càrmina from 1988 to 1990. He was the musical director for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. 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 Spanish orchestra based in Madrid. History Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the merging of Pérez Casa ...

. 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. In January 2024, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern announced the appointment of Pons as its next chief conductor, effective with 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 male conductors (music) Conductors (music) from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish conductors (music) 21st-century Spanish male musicians Spanish male musicians