THE AIMS FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA 2026

• The highlight of AIMS: The Festival Orchestra — three days of intensive work culminating in a concert on the final day.
• Sectional rehearsals for strings will take place during the String Academy, wind sectionals on August 12, and full orchestra (tutti) rehearsals on August 13 and 14.
• The concert will be held on the evening of August 14.
• We will be rehearsing and performing the Symphony nº5, op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

• Josep Castanyer will conduct the AIMS Festival Orchestra 2026.

Selection of string musicians:

• A selection will be made among the students of the Academy of Strings. This will be done by the faculty and the director of the Academy of Strings and Piano.
• Participation in the Orchestra is mandatory for selected students.
• Price: included in the Academy of Strings and Piano.

Selection of wind musicians:

• A selection will be made among the students of the Wind Academy. This will be done by the faculty and the director of the Wind Academy.
• Participation in the Orchestra is mandatory for selected students, except if there is a justified reason.
• The arrival will be before the start of the Wind Academy. Selected students have to arrive in Solsona on Tuesday, August 11th before 6pm.
• Price: there are no additional costs, and it will include accommodation and breakfast from the 11th to the 15th of August, and lunch from the 12th to the 15th of August (both days included).

Conductor

Josep Castanyer Alonso, born in Barcelona in 1997, has been a member of the cello section of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra since 2019. He began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany, at the age of 16 with Professor Maria Kliegel, and later completed a master’s programme in string quartet performance with Professor Günter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartet at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. He holds a degree in orchestral conducting from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has studied music composition and arrangement.

Besides his conducting engagements, Josep has written works for ensembles such as the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and several of his piano arrangements – performed and recorded by himself – have received wide attention online and in the media, leading to releases through Sony Music Entertainment.

He has appeared at festivals including the Verbier Festival and has worked with mentors such as András Schiff, Lynn Harrell and Gábor Takács-Nagy. He has toured and performed with orchestras including the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Swedish Opera and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, both as principal and tutti cellist.