MANEL VALDIVIESO | Conductor of orchestra and band

Manel Valdivieso has been the Artistic Director of JONC since 2001. Born in Barcelona, he studied music at the Escolania de Montserrat and at the Conservatories of Badalona and Barcelona. He completed his training by studying analysis with Benet Casablancas and orchestral conducting with Antoni Ros-Marbà.

He has conducted some of Spain's major orchestras, such as La Coruña, Granada, Tenerife, Madrid (National, Symphony, and RTVE), Bilbao, Castilla y León, Santiago de Compostela, Córdoba, Sevilla, Principado de Asturias, Málaga, and Balears. At the same time, he has developed a successful operatic career that has led him to debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the National Opera of Korea (Seoul), and the Washington DC Opera, with titles such as L'Elisir d'Amore, Barber of Seville, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Trittico, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, Turandot, Tosca, The Turn of the Screw, and others.

He has recorded different discographic projects for Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, TV3-Catalunya Música, and Columna Música, mostly focused on the works of contemporary composers.

Despite the strong international momentum of his recent activity, he has always maintained a strong connection with the musical reality of our country, collaborating and decisively participating in many new professional projects promoted by young or newly created ensembles such as Girona XXI, Murtra Ensemble, Camera Musicae, Orquestra de Cambra de Cervera, Orquestra Barroca Catalana, or Orquestra de Cambra de Granollers.

Among his recent activities, he has numerous appearances in the stable season of the Frankfurt-Oder Symphony (BSOF-Germany), BOS (Bilbao Symphony Orchestra), OFM (Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra), OCG (Granada City Orchestra), ORTVE, and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland).

He was the head of the orchestral conducting department at Musikene from 2010 to 2013 and is currently a professor at the Liceu Conservatory (Barcelona).