Waiting for the next auditions, we are meeting some of the musicians that joined us in the latest years, asking them about their experience with Theresia: today we introduce you the violist Alaia Ferran, from Spain.
Alaia,when did you join Theresia? How did you know about the orchestra?
I heard about Theresia two and a half years ago, maybe a little longer, because a clarinettist friend of mine told me about the project. She was the one who sent me all the information about the auditions that were done in Venice in 2016.
How many residencies have you done with Theresia?
Well,the truth is that I do not keep track of how many residences I have made … I think more than ten (and less than 100 at the moment, which is the number I aspire to…!). Some of them were chamber music and others were orchestral.
What did you like most of this experience and what do you think you have learnt or improved in?
For me, Theresia has a special meaning because of the vital moment in which I was at the time I auditioned. Theresia (the trainers rather), by circumstance, gave me the possibility to participate in their projects as the first viola, a role that at that time was quite new for me. That trust made me grow, and it will be something for which I will always be grateful. On the other hand, I have had the opportunity to deepen, from a historically informed point of view, in the classical language, thanks to the trainers and also to the colleagues from the orchestra, and all this combined with a flexible working atmosphere and sensitive to the different musical proposals that may arise.
Theresia residencies are both orchestral and chamber-music: what do you think about this formula?
For me, the combination between orchestra and chamber music is perfect, since this gives us the possibility to experiment diverse resources and develop in different contexts.
Did Theresia help you to extend your network of professional connections? Did it give you the chance of new professional experiences?
I can not say if Theresia has opened the doors of the professional world. I guess they have been opening little by little a bit by luck and another bit by various things, but for sure I can say that in Theresia I have met many colleagues with whom I still play inside and outside the orchestra. I have met great musicians who are the professionals of tomorrow whom I consider a very valuable contact, professionally and humanly speaking.
Theresia gave me the possibility to participate in their projects as the first viola, a role that at that time was quite new for me. That trust made me grow, and it will be something for which I will always be grateful
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Would you recommend joining Theresia to your colleagues and friends? Why?
Yes, of course I recommend it! Theresia for me is a kind of family, an experience where the human component is very important and where the high level offered by the orchestra is also the consequence of this respect, affection and admiration that there is among us.
Which are your projects now?
My projects … I have recently started two that I am passionate about; an ensemble with which we played, above all, baroque music: “The Ministers of Pastime”, and a string quartet that still has no name. These two projects excite me and motivate me a lot. In addition, I was recently admitted to the Jordi Savall Academy and from time to time I have the privilege of collaborating with orchestras like the Eighteenth Century Orchestra among others. Things change a lot in a very short time, but at the moment I feel lucky to be able to live on what I like.
