Appearances
Netherlands National Youth Orchestra, 2024; Spanish National Youth Orchestra, 2025; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, 2025; Noord Nederlands Orkest, 2025; Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, 2026; Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, 2026
What is your earliest memory of classical music?
When I was barely seven years old, the school organized a trip to a dress rehearsal of the orchestra of my hometown, the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville. I don’t remember the piece, just a huge mass of many colors playing at the same time. It was magical.
Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
It’s unfair to mention just one teacher; I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many top-level teachers at different ages. Sometimes you just need them to understand that at 11 years old, your motivation as a child isn’t exactly to play all the scales perfectly. I value those who knew how to wait, I value those who didn’t keep secrets and gave me absolutely everything they knew, I value those who, without gaining anything in return, dedicated dozens of hours to me because of their love for the instrument and music. They all influenced me, and they all did their part to shape who I am today.
What made you decide to become a musician? Was there a particular performance or person that influenced your decision?
Without a doubt, the culprit was Andrea Cellacchi, who later became my master’s professor in Amsterdam. I had the opportunity to see him live at the IDRS World Congress in 2018. I was in the sixth row and was able to enjoy a show I had never seen before. That day I decided to put all my efforts into becoming a professional bassoonist.
How did you hear about TŌN? What inspired you to apply?
I saw ads online and started to become interested in orchestras for recent graduates, where you can put all your individual study into practice and grow as an orchestral performer. It’s important to keep training and expanding the flexibility and adaptability required in an orchestra to blend in with all the sections. I understood that TŌN offered me this and I couldn’t find a reason to refuse to apply.
How would you like to see orchestra concerts evolve in the future?
I would love to see two approaches. I would love to see period music revived with absolute fidelity, respecting original instruments and styles. On the other hand, I would love to see how far modern engineering can go in perfecting modern instruments. Of course, I would always prefer to have the opportunity to hear the piece again in its original format. I believe it’s important to preserve the original essence and respect it exactly as it was created. I can’t choose one approach over the other, I would gladly attend both types of concerts.
What is the most memorable performance you ever had?
Without a doubt, any concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has too many magical moments to choose just one, and as a bassoonist, listening to The Rite of Spring, The Firebird, Scheherazade, or Strauss’s Four Last Songs there are moments that truly give you goosebumps, and not only because of the solos on bassoon. Horn, English horn, flute, violas . . . As I said before, it’s not fair to list just a few because it’s truly a unique spectacle for each of the musicians that make up this wonderful orchestra.
What is your proudest achievement as a musician?
Thinking objectively, it would be prudent to say that my greatest achievement was getting third place in the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, due to the extremely high level that is seen each year in the more than 100 applicants who try to get in.
Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
I understood long ago that any professional musician who spends decades exposed week after week to programs, regardless of their role in the orchestra, has immeasurable value and work behind them. It’s not about how you play the day you win the audition, it’s about, at the very least, maintaining that standard of quality throughout your years of service, out of respect for yourself, the music you play, and your colleagues who trusted you by giving you their vote.
Tell us about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.
During my professional music studies (a six-year program in Spain that runs concurrently with high school and prepares you for your bachelor’s degree), I had a change of teacher. Albert Sunyer, my first teacher and largely responsible for my becoming a bassoonist, left his position to become the director of the conservatory where I studied. That year, I didn’t have that patient teacher, I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a professor who dedicated hours to finding motivation in his students. At that time, at such a young age, I saw no point in continuing to study bassoon. Every lesson made me feel worse and hate my instrument even more. Everything changed when Albert returned to teaching and I became his student again. He always knew how to give me space and time, and he knew how to make me fall in love with the beautiful instrument we both share. And that makes me think, what a shame that such incapable people have the power to influence how a child experiences music or their instrument, what a shame that at such an early age there are people capable of extinguishing your light, and on the other hand, how lucky that there are professionals with immense hearts like Albert who make it all worthwhile in the end.
Can you share any memorable onstage mishaps?
In the summer of 2024, we were finishing a six-concert tour with the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE). Apparently, the soundcheck had to be done rather quickly due to logistical issues. The bus that took us from the hotel to the auditorium wasn’t returning until the next day, and I had left my concert shoes on the bus, so I had to close the concert tour playing barefoot.
Do you have a favorite non-classical musician or band?
Too many: Janis Joplin, El Arrebato, Estopa, Diego El Cigala, Rod Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Joaquín Sabina, Silvio y Sacramento, Fito y Fitipaldis, Marc Anthony, Bruno Mars, Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, El Barrio, Queen, Michael Jackson, Airbag, Andrés Calamaro, Black Eyed Peas . . .
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
Something related to the automotive industry: I love cars, their mechanics, the models, the history of the brands. I’m passionate about the world of cars and driving. On the other hand, I’ve loved understanding how companies work since I was very young: their taxation, how they make money, and how they accumulate capital. I could work on either side, or who knows, maybe both at the same time.
What is a surprising part of playing your instrument that you think most people don’t know?
It is truly versatile; sometimes it is assumed to have a secondary role, or merely an accompaniment, but it is a tremendously agile instrument capable of producing a fascinating number of colors and articulations; its versatility is undoubtedly something that many people are unaware of.
What is the biggest challenge and/or surprise about playing in an orchestra?
Undoubtedly, there is risk involved, but the musician’s decision to take that risk and their determination to do so depends on the entire orchestra. The working environment is fundamental for each musician to decide to risk drawing the most incredible lines an instrument can produce. This translates into unique colors: the extreme dynamics in the woodwinds, for example, when they achieve almost inaudible pianos, pure legatos, and well-defined articulations. When an orchestra thrives, its members support each other and give their all. You might see an oboe playing passages as soft or delicate as a clarinet, or hear a French horn playing dynamics typical of strings, almost inaudible. The audience begins to observe and is almost unable to identify which instrument is playing because the sound is so special that no one recognizes it as a French horn. I really like to emphasize this, because for me it makes a huge difference between a professional orchestra and a world-class orchestra. Many can play in tune and in sync, but not so many breathe together and are consistent with the suggestions of the other string sections, and very few manage to produce the full range of colors and articulations that a symphony orchestra can produce. It all comes down to the risk that the musicians are willing to take, and in turn, this depends on the orchestra’s working environment.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Believe in doing a good job, believe in the process from beginning to end, the results will come later.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
First, you must have excellent equipment, not necessarily the most expensive, simply a faithful reflection of your mental musical idea. If your instrument allows you to express the exact idea you have in mind, you’re on the right track. If your musical idea is correct but you’re unable to transmit it through your instrument due to technical limitations, you must correct that first. Once you achieve a clear transmission, you can be honest with yourself and work on improving those ideas. That way, the audience or the jury will be able to hear exactly the idea you’ve been working on for months.