ESTEBAN URZELAI

He holds a degree in Piano from the Conservatorio Superior de San Sebastián and in Choral Conducting from the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco, Musikene, with maestro Gabriel Baltés. He furthered his training by studying Orchestral Conducting at Musikene with maestro Arturo Tamayo, studies which he began with maestros Enrique García Asensio and Manel Valdivieso. He participated in the European Youth Choir, as well as in the choir of the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, with conductors such as F. Bernius, J. Prinz, F. Sjöberg, M. Guinand and H. Rilling. He is an Industrial Organisation Engineer.

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He was conductor of Oñatiko Ganbara Abesbatza between 1996 and 2009, an ensemble with which he won, among other prizes, the Grand National Prize for Choral Singing in 2004. In 2004, he took over the direction of the Orfeón Donostiarra youth choir (Orfeón Infantil y Juvenil). With the Youth Choir of the Orfeón, he won first prize in the youth category of the Ejea de los Caballeros Choral Competition in 2016, and first prize in the polyphony and folklore categories, the audience award and the prize for best conductor in the IV. Choral Competition ‘Acapella’ of Navarra in 2019. Between 2007 and 2020 he was deputy artistic director of the Orfeón Donostiarra. He conducted the Youth Choir of the Basque Country between 2016 and 2019, and has been conductor of the Suhar bass voice choir since 2018. He was conductor of the Oviedo Opera Choir, as well as assistant musical director in the 2020-2021 season. In December 2020 he was appointed assistant conductor of the Coro Nacional de España.

 

He collaborates actively with the Federation of Choirs of Gipuzkoa and has been a member of the teaching staff of the Academy of Choral Conducting organised by the Confederation of Choirs of the Basque Country since 2012. He has also taught numerous conducting and performance courses in Badajoz, Cordoba, Malaga, Seville, Ciudad Real, Madrid, Zaragoza, Lugo, Albacete and Asturias.
 
 

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