Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with 200 musicians from the London Philharmonia Orchestra and Orfe Catal on June 10.May 27, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Olivia P rez-Collellmir BM 17, an assistant professor at Berklee, will premiere her composition Seven Dreams of Gaud next month in Barcelona.
Image by Samuel Pereira
P rez-Collellmirs (left) 45-minute choral symphony will feature a libretto by award-winning Catalonian poet Anna Gual and 200 musicians from the London Philharmonia Orchestra and Orfe Catal ; it will be directed by Marin Alsop (right).
Image by David Ruano
On June 10, the city of Barcelona will mark the centennial of visionary Catalonian architect Antoni Gaud 's passing at the Palau de la M sica Catalana with the world premiere of Els Set Somnis de Gaud (Seven Dreams of Gaud ) by Berklee faculty member and Catalonia native Olivia P rez-Collellmir BM '17.
P rez-Collellmir's monumental symphonic choral work will feature a libretto by award-winning Catalonian poet Anna Gual. The piece brings together 200 musicians from the London Philharmonia Orchestra and choirs of Orfe Catal , including Chamber Choir of the Palau de la M sica Catalana, Youth Choir of the Orfe Catal , and Young Women's Choir of the Orfe Catal , along with Catalonian soprano N ria Rial; it will be conducted by Marin Alsop. P rez-Collellmir's former teacher, college and conservatory professor Marti Epstein, also contributed to the project as an artistic mentor.
Seven Dreams of Gaud takes place over seven movements or dreams, reflecting a defining moment in the artist's journey. P rez-Collellmir has described the work as an artistic exploration of the values of faith, nature, love, and pain that shaped Gaud s life. Created under the artistic mentorship of Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, P rez-Collellmir and Gual have created a 45-minute work that guides listeners through the following movements: Nature, The Workshop, Duality, Grief, The Uprising, Prayer, and The Bas lica.
As a native of Catalonia, it is a true honor to be part of the vision for the year of Gaud , said P rez-Collellmir. This symphonic choral work is a deep artistic exploration of the values of faith, nature, love, and pain that shaped Gaud 's life, and I am so appreciative to the many artists and institutions who have come together to make it a reality. To bring this work to life at the Palau de la M sica Catalana alongside the Orfe Catal and the London Philharmonia Orchestra under Marin Alsop is profoundly meaningful. Commemorating the centennial of Gaud 's passing through art is so important, and I am certain this event will be as visionary as the artist himself.
Taking place during the Year of Gaud , the premiere coincides with the completion of the Tower of Jesus, the tallest of the eighteen towers rising from the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, and brings one of the artist's unrealized acoustic projects to life. Gaud 's distinctive hyperboloid bells, originally designed for the Sagrada Familia but whose prototypes were lost during the Spanish Civil War, are now being realized by architect and musician Galdric Santana, director of the Gaud Chair at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Santana has spent more than 12 years documenting Gaud s designs and is now overseeing the casting of the bells. These bells, which will eventually ring from the towers of the Nativity facade, will sound for the first time in a musical context during the finale of Seven Dreams of Gaud , fulfilling a dream left unfinished during the artist's lifetime.
About Olivia P rez-CollellmirBorn in Barcelona, and now based in Boston where she teaches in the piano and ensemble departments at Berklee College of Music, Olivia P rez-Collellmir is a Catalan composer and pianist whose work is rooted in classical tradition and cultural memory, while embracing a bold, contemporary voice. Her music reflects both European and American influences, blending emotional depth with rhythmic vitality into a distinctive compositional language-what composer Osvaldo Golijov has called a striking and gorgeous distillation of profound lyricism and rhythms that are ferocious and elegant at the same time. It stays in my mind long after hearing it.
She began studying piano at the age of four and, at just eight years old, was accepted into the Conservatori Superior de M sica de Barcelona, where she completed her formal training and graduated as a classical pianist. Her mentors include N ria Bonells, a principal disciple of Alicia de Larrocha and part of a pianistic lineage tracing back to Granados and Alb niz. She also studied with Antoni Besses (a disciple of Mompou and Messiaen, and a collaborator of Copland and Ginastera), and with Josep Maria Colom at the Hindemith Foundation in Switzerland. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree as a dual major in performance and professional music from Berklee, and has a bachelor's degree in philosophy, a master's degree in education and music, and has completed doctoral coursework in philosophy at the University of Barcelona. Read P rez-Collellmir's full biography.
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Olivia P rez-Collellmir BM 17, an assistant professor at Berklee, will premiere her composition Seven Dreams of Gaud next month in Barcelona.
Image by Samuel Pereira
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty memb
