Unió Musical D’Albaida "L’Aranya"

HISTORY OF THE BAND

The Unió Musical d'Albaida "l'Aranya" [the Spider] was founded in 1923. The oldest document in the Society's archives dates back to 1927.

In the 1950s, under the baton of maestro and composer, Fernando Tormo Ibáñez, the Band took part in the Valencia Wind Band Contest in two consecutive years in the city bullring.

In the last decade of the twentieth century the Band performed in the Austrian cities of Innsbruck and Bregenz.

The Band has recorded 8 CDs. The last was released in 2014, a collection of festival music titled "L'ARANYA I EL FESTER", performed under the baton of the Band's current conductor, José Javier Sanz Vila.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE CONDUCTOR

José Javier Sanz Vila

José Javier Sanz Vilaés graduated in Orchestra Conducting from ESMUC (Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña), where he studied for five years with Maestro Jordi Mora. At the ESMUC he also studied instrumental group conducting with Xavier Puig, choir conducting with Josep Vila and Johan Duijck, singing with Francesc Garrigosa, piano with Pierre Reach and Jean-François Dichamp, and viola with Yuval Gotlibovich.

He has conducted various ensembles and orchestras from the ESMUC in rehearsals and concerts, some in the Auditorio de Barcelona, including his graduation concert featuring works by Grieg and Haydn.

Born in 1983 in El Camp de Mirra (Alicante), J. Javier Sanz began his musical studies with the saxophone and piano, obtaining a Degree in Saxophone in 2003 from the Alicante "Óscar Esplà" Conservatory.

He started studying conducting with J. Rafael Pascual Vilaplana, and went on to study with numerous teachers such as Timothy Reynish, Mark Heron, Denise Ham and Eugene Corporon, during courses in the UK and Spain.

He has been the principal conductor of the Sociedad Musical "Santa Cecília" of Camp de Mirra and the Youth Band of the Sociedad Musical "La Pau" of Beneixama. He has also been guest conductor for numerous bands and choirs in the Valencia Region. He is currently the principal conductor of the Unió Musical d'Albaida "l'Aranya" and Grupo Instrumental Simfonies, with which he has various upcoming projects.

J. Javier Sanz was a member of the Orfeó Català in 2009 and 2010, performing as a baritone together with ensembles such as the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and the Nacional de Cataluña (OBC), the Orquesta Real Filharmonia de Galicia, the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and the Orquestra Barroca Catalana, and with conductors such as Salvador Mas, Antoni Ros Marbà, Josep Vila and Eiji Oue.