Cor Mitjans
Sheila Garcia Barba
Conductor of the Cor Mitjans of Orfeó Català
Choral conductor and music educator, Sheila Garcia i Barba currently coordinates the Escola Canta project of the Escola Coral de l’Orfeó Català and conducts the Cor Mitjans of the Orfeó Català. She is the founder and co-director of the music education center Musics’Son in Barcelona, together with Ivan Prades i Ferré, and the creator of the therapeutic space La Veu com a Camí.
She has training in choral conducting from the Federació de Corals de Catalunya, in Waldorf pedagogy from the Cercle per la Pedagogia Waldorf de Catalunya, in Willems music pedagogy from the Fédération Internationale d’Éducation Musicale Edgar Willems, in therapeutic and pedagogical vocal accompaniment Cant Werbeck–Escola Terapèutica de Desvetllament Vocal, in evolutionary accompaniment and human biography with Ariadna Bailo and Montserrat Montané, and in polarity therapy.
Since 1998 she has worked as a teacher trainer in choral conducting and pedagogy courses, a teacher of music theory and voice, an author of editorial projects, and a conductor of various Catalan choirs, using music as a tool for personal development and social art.
She has collaborated as a teacher at the School of Pedagogical Observation of the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, as a speaker in teacher training programs at LaCultivadora and La Marfà, as a coach for the project El Mesías Participativo in Granada and Barcelona, as assistant conductor of the Coral Sant Jordi, as substitute conductor of the Petits Cantaires de la Guineu ensemble and of the children’s choir of The Magic Flute at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, as well as a guest conductor with various choral groups. She has been a member of the technical team of the Secretariat de Corals Infantils de Catalunya and of the jury of the Ciutat de Reus Choral Composition Awards.
In the field of performing arts, she regularly collaborates with professional theatre companies and has been co-creator, musical director, and vocal coach for various productions, some of which were nominated for the Butaca Awards and the Critics’ Awards, with premieres at the Temporada Alta and Grec festivals.
Gemma Tatay
Assistant Director of the Cor Mitjans of Orfeó Català
Born in Barcelona, Gemma Tatay earned an intermediate degree in piano and a higher degree in theory and solfège at the Conservatori del Liceu. She also holds a diploma in music education from the University of Barcelona. She studied choral conducting in courses organized by the FCEC and other institutions. Throughout her career, she has conducted both children’s and adult choirs, including the Children’s Choir of the Escola de Música de la Guineu, the Children’s Choir of the Escola de Música Joan Llongueras, the Children’s Choir of the Escola de Música Accent, Cor Tessàlia, and Cor Ariadna of the Agrupació Cor Madrigal, which she continues to lead at present. For the past seven years, she has sung as a soprano in the GAC Choir of Barcelona.
In the field of pedagogy, she has been a lecturer in music education at the University of Barcelona. She regularly teaches courses in music pedagogy and choral conducting for teachers and choir directors at universities and institutions throughout Catalonia and the rest of Spain. During the 2023–24 academic year, she was part of the Escola Coral de l’Orfeó Català as conductor of the Cor Petits. Since 2020, she has been a music teacher in primary and secondary education at Escola Mestral in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, where she also directs the children’s choirs.
Laia Armengol
Pianist of the Choirs Mitjans and Petits of Orfeó Català
"Playing a part in these children's education is one of the most gratifying jobs I have ever done. Playing with them and experiencing the music all together is indescribable."
Born in Barcelona in 1981, Laia Armengol began her musical training at the age of 6 in the Escola Coral de l'Orfeó Català. She studied piano with Àngel Soler and Diana Baker. In 2002 she graduated from the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona and moved to London to attend classes with Yonty Solomon and Douglas Finch at the Trinity College of Music in London, where she did a postgraduate course as an accompanying pianist and a master's degree in solo performance. She has also been advised by Miquel Farré, Mark Hastings, Francisco Poyato, Josep Colom, Eugene Asti, Roger Vignoles and George Hadjinikos, among others.
She has earned recognition as a soloist and a chamber musician in several competitions, including the Leonard Smith and Felicity Young Duo Competition and the John Halford Piano Competition, among others.
As a soloist and accompanying pianist she has performed in Spain and England. She is currently a performer of chamber music and a pianist accompanying solo singers and choirs.
She has recorded the CD La Fragua de Luna for flute and piano for Columna Música, in the "Young Performers" series through Juventudes Musicales de España and recently he has recorded the record Músicas Electricos with Morphosis Ensemble (Ins Records), ensemble specialized in contemporary music.
She has been working as a piano accompanist in the Escola Coral de l'Orfeó Català education project to foster choral singing in Yaoundé (Cameroon).
On the teaching side, she currently works at the Barcelona Municipal Conservatory of Music, and at the IEA Oriol Martorell in charge of the Higher Training Course in Choral Conducting Techniques and promoting the Oriol Martorell Chamber Choir, working as pianist and assistant conductor (dir. Daniel Antolí).