Xavier Pagès-Corella is a musician with a solid career characterized by his creativity and versatility. His artistic vision encompasses a wide variety of styles, ranging from music inspired by popular traditions to the most experimental contemporary compositions. Throughout his career, he has stood out for his intense work in performing and promoting the Catalan musical heritage of all times, with the firm purpose of making music a close, valuable, and socially transformative form of expression. He is currently the artistic and principal director of the Julià Carbonell Orchestra of the Terres de Lleida, director of the Barcelona Modern Ensemble, associate director of the Orquestra de Cambra Catalana, and professor at the Liceu Higher Conservatory of Music.
Born in Sant Pere de Ribes, he trained at the Liceu Higher Conservatory of Music and the Municipal Higher Conservatory of Music of Barcelona, where he studied piano with Montserrat Almirall and Margarita Serrat, composition with Salvador Pueyo, and orchestral conducting with Albert Argudo. He also graduated in industrial engineering from ETSEIB and furthered his conducting studies at the Vienna Conservatory with Reinhard Schwarz and Georg Mark. He was the winner of the Mirabent Magrans Competition for Young Performers, assistant conductor of the JONC, finalist of the 4th International Conducting Competition of the Orchestra of Córdoba, and received a special mention at the International Competition for Young Conductors of Besançon.
He has conducted ensembles such as the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Orquesta de Córdoba, the Orquestra Simfònica Ciutat d’Eivissa, the Orquestra Ciutat d’Elx, the Camerata Eduard Toldrà, the Giorquesta, the Orquestra Camerata Musicae, the Orquestra Camerata XXI, and the Orquestra de Cambra Terrassa 48. He has performed at venues and festivals such as the Palau de la Música, L’Auditori de Barcelona, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Auditorio Manuel de Falla, the Grec Festival of Barcelona, the Castell de Peralada Festival, the Barcelona Festival of Pocket Opera and New Creations, and the Pau Casals Festival. Internationally, his debut in America with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mendoza stands out, as well as his conducting with ensembles such as the Sinaloa Arts Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Catalogne, the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacău, and the Thüringen Philharmonie. He has also conducted groups specializing in contemporary repertoire, such as Barcelona 216, Grupo 21, Sitges 94. He has premiered numerous works at festivals such as the Sampler Series at L’Auditori de Barcelona, the Música para el Tercer Milenio series in Madrid, ME_MMIX in Mallorca, Mostra Sonora de Sueca, and Turbulences Sonores in Montpellier. Between 2004 and 2009, he was the principal conductor of Cobla Sant Jordi, with which he carried out an intense schedule of concerts and various recordings for Catalunya Música, Radio Nacional de España, Harmonia Mundi, and Columna Música.
As a composer, he has been awarded the Andrés Gaos Musical Composition Prize, the Tarragona International Composition Competition, the Oare String Orchestra Composing Competition, and the Centcelles Composition Prize. He has also received commissions from institutions such as the Orfeó Català Foundation — Palau de la Música, the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the World Symposium on Choral Music, the Cervera Easter Festival, L’Auditori de Barcelona, the Cervera Music Festival, the Sardana Federation of Catalonia, the Castell de Peralada Festival, the Sant Cugat Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Festival of Pocket Opera and New Creations, and the Joaquim Serra Memorial. All his music is published by Influx Sheet Music.