ARTISTIC DIRECTION

Born in Palma de Mallorca in 1977, the violinist and conductor Gabriel Estarellas Pascual moved to Madrid at a very early age, where he began his musical studies. During his violin career he has given many performances as a soloist with orchestras, guest concertmaster, recitals and chamber music concerts with different ensembles in Europe and the United States. In 2002 he traveled to Switzerland to continue his studies and in 2004 he founded the string quartet Estarellas Quartett, in which he is still first violin. The quartet was awarded in the important Swiss competitions: ORPHEUS Swiss Chamber Music Competition and Kammermusikwettbewerb des Migros-Kulturprozent in 2007.

Also renowned is his facet as a conductor, Gabriel Estarellas Pascual has conducted important orchestral ensembles such as the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen (Switzerland), Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears (Spain), Polish Philharmonic Symphony Baltic (Poland), Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria), Akademisches Sinfonieorchester Sofia (Bulgaria), Camerata Antonio Soler (Spain), among others. In 2008, he was appointed principal conductor and artistic director of the Jugendorchester Thurgau and from 2014 to 2024 he has been chief conductor of the Orchesterverein Zürich. His repertoire covers all periods and styles, from baroque to contemporary, symphonic and operatic music. Thanks to his outstanding pedagogical and artistic activity together with the Jugendorchester Thurgau, he was awarded in 2013 with the Culture Prize of sponsorship of Thurgau and in 2016 with the Culture Prize of the city of Amriswil.

Throughout his musical career as a violinist and conductor he has been invited to numerous international festivals and concert series, among which we must highlight: Trecastagni International Music Festival in Sicily, IV Festival International de Guitare de Paris, Musiksommer am Zürichsee, Santander International Festival, Kuressaare Chamber Music Days in Estonia, International Bodenseefestival, Texas Music Festival of Houston, etc. He has also performed in prestigious halls such as: National Auditorium of Spain (Madrid),, Salle Cortot of Paris, etc. And he has also shared the stage with renowned musicians such as: Isabel Rey, Kurt Meier, Chiara Enderle Samatanga, Ilker Arcayürek, Thomas Grossenbacher, etc.

Always very interested in Spanish music and in the diffusion of new works, he has performed the world premieres of composers such as: Gabriel Estarellas, Zulema de la Cruz, Carlos Cruz de Castro, Daniel Fueter, Pedro Ximenez Abril Tirado, Robert Elkjer, etc. He is a great connoisseur of the chamber music works of the maestro Antón García Abril.

His concerts have been broadcast and recorded live by European radio and television stations such as DRS2, Espace 2, RNE, etc., with works by J. Haydn, C. Debussy, F. Martin, A. Dvorak, among others. He has also produced 3 CDs with the Jugendorchester Thurgau. Together with the Estarellas Quartett a CD for the SELLO AUTOR, with works by Antón García Abril.

Gabriel Estarellas Pascual studied music at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid and at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Switzerland) with professors Victor Martín, Rudolf Koelman and the Carmina Quartett, being given the Superior Title of Violin and Master of Chamber Music in the specialization of String Quartet. During his period of studies, he received scholarships from important institutions such as: the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Música en Compostela, the University of Houston (USA) and the Bruno Schuler-Stiftung (Switzerland). At the same time, he was invited to take violin and chamber music courses with maestros Nobu Wakabayashi, Emile Cantor, Andrzej Grabiec, Nora Chastain, Thomas Demenga and Lucie Robert, among others. After his instrumental apprenticeship, he began his postgraduate studies in the specialty of Orchestra Conductor at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, obtaining with High Honors the Orchestral Conducting Diploma, and is regularly invited to international conducting courses by the maestros Prof. Jorma Panula, Prof. Atso Almila, etc.

gabrielestarellaspascual.ch

”Gabriel Estarellas Pascual is gifted with impressive natural musicality and great social competence. His orchestral conducting is prominent and his relationship with the orchestra is one of great trust. Probably what characterizes him most is his love of music and an enthusiasm that transfers immediately to the orchestra.
Thomas Grossenbacher, solo cellist at the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich (ZHdK).