Vicenç Solsona: "Taller de Músics is home"
Pedagogical director and guitarist of Taller de Músics ESEM
Throughout its 45-year history, Musicians' Workshop It has become a leading institution in the training, creation, and dissemination of modern popular music. It is a comprehensive and unique artistic support project in which art, creativity, spontaneity, and enthusiasm accompany students on their journey from the classroom to the stage.
What does the Taller de Músics mean to you?
— For me, the Taller de Músics is like home, like always playing at home. It's like having a bond with someone like family.
How did you get involved with the Workshop?
— I arrived when I was 17. I found it by chance, but I sometimes say that you make a fortune. I was studying jazz and modern guitar with an Argentine teacher. I played a lot of classical, but I also came from playing rock and rollHe knew Rabito Vélez, who was a legendary member of the Taller, and he told me, "There's a school where everyone is, where you'll find people like you, with that same crazy passion for music." I looked for information and ended up at that tiny office on Requesens Street. They made it very easy for me, and I signed up for everything.
What is your artistic journey at Taller de Músics?
— The connection started from the very beginning: having contact with very good musicians, the desire to improve myself... There were Zé Eduardo, Luis Vidal, José Luis Gámez, and Jordi Bonell; also teaching were Rossy, Eladio Reinón, Iñaki Salvador, Perico Sambeat, Jordi Gaspar, and Ramon Cardo. Sometimes we shared the stage. I experienced what the Taller does, putting those with a certain talent to play with teachers or people who play more. Sean Levitt was a key figure for me; I keep the cassette tapes of his classes; he changed me. Later, I came into contact with Kurt Rosenwinkel. I also shared the stage with El Canario, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Horacio El Negro through the Taller.
And what has been your pedagogical path there?
— I was offered a teaching position when I was 20. I knew the method well as a student and could replicate it. I still have the programs from when they were handmade! The books are still relevant. A few years ago, we visited a school in Colombia that uses them. It's a jazz-based method, and we've been adapting it. The jazz thread helps you immerse yourself in and understand other types of music.
What is the teaching like at the Higher Education Center?
— The Taller was already a higher education institution before it became one, and many higher education schools exist thanks to the Taller's existence. We continue to apply the same method, which I can use to describe many other types of music. Students progress more quickly, and this is important. I guide them with advice that will help them understand jazz, flamenco, pop, Latin, and other musicians. From there, and only if they want, they can focus more and become experts in a single style.
How many students does the Higher Center accommodate?
— At the upper level, we host 240 students and welcome students from schools in Rome, Parma, Weimar, Brno, and other cities. Each year, our students travel to schools in Tallinn, The Hague, Aalborg, Rome, and other cities. We have over 30 collaboration agreements with European universities.
Unlike other centers, the Taller de Músics has a management and production department with a significant national and international impact.
"Back in the day, I came into contact with many musicians. I saw that familiarity and had the opportunity to share the stage with them, and that hasn't changed," says Vicenç Solsona. The center involves its young musicians in numerous productions: Jazz Talents at La Pedrera, the Alma y Las Noches festival at the Palau Güell, productions at its own Ciutat Flamenco festival, for the Grec Festival, and so on. In recent years, young musicians have played with artists such as Omar Sousa, Perico Sambeat, Cora Novoa, Chano Domínguez, and Salvador Sobral through the Actions for Novells Musicians program. Each year, those who graduate perform at the Talent Festival, such as the ESEM Big Band and XXL Collective Musicians Workshop, and Super String.
