TERRASSA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 48
With the support of the Terrassa City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Terrassa 48 Chamber Orchestra is a stable formation specializing in the repertoire written for strings.
Founded in its current form and philosophy in 2000, the ensemble has given great impetus and dissemination of music for string orchestra training with programs that combine great research and proximity.
OCT48 has performed concerts all over Catalonia and Spain, collaborated in important symphonic and choral productions and made recordings for the labels Ars Harmonica, Ma de Guido, the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation and the Center Robert Gerhard.
With the desire to encourage knowledge and enthusiasm for classical music among children, OCT48 has carried out numerous educational initiatives. They highlight his direct work in the "open rehearsal" project and his own children's shows "Telemann and the story of Don Quixote"; "Handel's button"; "Popoff, a clueless composer" and "Els quadres de Hartmann", which have been programmed by theaters all over Catalonia.
Collaborations with directors such as L. Heltay, J. Vila, M. Barrera, X. Puig, M. Thomas, B. Sargent, G. Comellas or J. Prats are also noteworthy; soloists such as M. Pintó, G. Claret, J. Domènech, D. Ligorio, V. Bronevetzky, M. Hinojosa, A. Pillai, A. Ventura, J. Palomares, I. Monar, A. Malikian, C. Arimany, D. Brlek. or K. Gleusteen and groups such as the Choral Cantiga, Choral Sant Jordi, Enric Granados Choir, the Orfeó Català Chamber Choir and Kimbala Percussions, among many others.
In its search for literature for string orchestra, the OCT48 has performed first auditions in Catalonia of numerous works for this formation and also at European level, highlighting the continental premiere of The Passion of Mary by Howard Blake with the same composer conducting, as well as premieres of works by Catalan authors such as A. Guinovart, M. Caselles, J. Cornudella, T. Peire, A. Puig, F. Cruixent, J. LL. Guzman, C. Houses…. and first recordings of works by R. Lamote de Grignon, J. Manén and M. Oltra, thus promoting his will to spread, research and globalize the musical fact and also at country level.
OCT48 has explored new musical and scenic paths with the creation of multidisciplinary shows such as "Carmen de Shchedrin", "Giovanni SE" and "Gudbranstal the stories of Peer Gynt", the co-production together with the Cervera Easter Festival of "Remena Nena" with A. Tordera and J. Domènech, collaborations with singers such as P. Sala, in the show "Una nit amb orquestra" and Sisa, with whom they premiered "Arriba una cancó", and with jazz formations such as the Manel Camp Trio and Carles Cases with whom they premiere the play "Araguaya" with texts by P. Casaldàliga.
Given the great general acceptance and critical acclaim for its programs based on the research and dissemination of music written for strings globally, the OCT48 has continuously scheduled since 2000 its concert season in the city of Terrassa, and since the 2004-05 season it has been the resident orchestra in the new Municipal Auditorium of Terrassa, where it offers its stable cycle of concerts.
CONDUCTOR
Quim Térmens
OCT48 is led from the violin by Quim Térmens, a musician from Sabadell who received his first violin training from Ofèlia Rodrigo and later studied with the violinist and teacher Gonçal Comellas with whom he trained musically and completed his higher studies . He has also received master classes from the violinists Arkadi Futer and Michel Barta. He has been awarded, among others, the First Arts Prize (20th century music section, Xavier Montsalvatge Prize) awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya. In his years of career he has promoted the dissemination and knowledge of works written for strings, currently being a reference in this field. He has been a member of the Chamber Orchestra of the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Orchestra of Chamber Gonçal Comellas. He currently performs his most extensive work in the Arcattia project with concerts throughout the country and Costa Rica and has been awarded, among others, the Xavier Montsalvatge prize. Author of several children's shows such as Popoff, a clueless composer, Hartmann's paintings, Tumbuktú stories, Handel's button and Telemann and the story of Don Quixote; he is also the author of several compositions for student string orchestras. In the pedagogical field he has trained with personalities such as Sheila Nelson, Vaartan Manoogian and Mimi Zweig and is the author of several children's shows. He develops his teaching work at the Conservatory of Music in Vic as a violin teacher and director of its string orchestras and has been invited to talks on pedagogy, jury of instrumental and chamber competitions, director of youth orchestra meetings and as a violin teacher at the Principality of Andorra International Music Course. He is also currently the artistic director of the BBVA Festival of Religious Music in Vic.