Cor de Noies
The choir
Right from the start, the Cor de Noies de l'Orfeó Català gives its singers the chance to work on a repertoire created exclusively for treble voice choirs. It is a highly enriching experience for the Escola Coral, as it gives choristers coming out of the Cor Infantil the chance to complete their choral education in a choir for girls.
The 47 members of the choir, aged between 16 and 25, explore the choral possibilities of their voices through a weekly work programme that includes both voice training and rehearsals. The freshness, ductility and tenderness of their voices create a very special, attractive sound in concerts. Nevertheless, the work of the choir goes further in the vocal field, successfully venturing new experiences which explore other fields, such as the incorporation of stage features. The performers have taken up this motivating challenge and adapted to it with enormous versatility.
Booking the Choir
Lídia Torra
[email protected]
Biography
Founded in 2000 by Lluís Vilamajó, the Orfeó Català Cor de Noies Girls' Choir is made up of 47 singers aged between 16 and 25 years old, who mostly started choral singing in the Orfeó Català children’s choirs. It has been conducted by Buia Reixach i Feixes. Currently, Montserrat Meneses is the conductor and Maria Mauri is the pianist. The clarity, agility and softness of their voices gives their concerts a unique and appealing sound. But performances by the Cor de Noies go beyond vocal excellence, delving into new experiences that explore other areas, such as incorporating scenic design.
The choir has worked with conductors J. Busto, P. L. Biosca, X. Puig, M. Minkowski, E. van Tiel, M. Valdivieso, N. Huynh, J. Nott, A. Salado, G. Dudamel and Z. Mehta, and has collaborated with the Franz Schubert Filharmonia, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona, Vespres d’Arnadí, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Cor de Noies has also collaborated with the singer Noa, and performed with the Basque company KuKai Dantza in the show Erritu (2020).
In 2023, the choir performed The pulse in the inauguration of Grec Festival, with the Australian contemporary circus company Gravity and Other Myths, before taking part in the subsequent international tour (5 July to 1 August, with a total of thirteen performances): Complètement Cirque Festival in Montréal (Canada), Festival Theatre in the Kingfisher Club in Galway (Ireland), and La Strada Graz Festival (Austria). It is also worth noting the Palau de la Música concert of Caroline Shaw’s Its motion keeps and Jordi Domènech's Pianto della Madonna, together with guest choirs Exaudio, Aglepta and Nàiades, and a performance of Debussy’s La demoiselle élue with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya at the Auditori de Barcelona, under the baton of Ludovic Morlot.
In 2024, a highlight was the concert performed by the Cor de Noies together with Lluís Vilamajó, as part of a project led by the director of the Escola Coral, Pablo Larraz, which regularly features Vilamajó as a guest conductor of the institution’s choirs. The concert included the world premiere of a piece written specifically for the ensemble by Mariona Vila. Also noteworthy was the concert featuring works by Ola Gjeilo, with the composer himself at the piano, alongside the Orfeó Català and the choirs of the Escola Coral, as well as their participation in the Fiesta de la Música Coral, the concert conducted by Basilio Astúlez, and the concert with the Primfila, primfila program, conducted by Montserrat Meneses. In 2025, highlights include the concert with the OBC at L'Auditori, conducted by Gemma New, performing The Planets by Gustav Holst; the exchange with the Danish choir Nordlys in Copenhagen; and participation in The Veil of the Temple by John Tavener, alongside the Orfeó Català and Cor Jovel de l'Orfeó Català, at the Grec Festival.
Last 2025–26 season included the premieres of El clam de la Terra by Mariona Vila (November 2025) and Els set somnis de Gaudí by Olivia Pérez-Collellmir, alongside the Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Música Catalana, the Cor Jove de l’Orfeó Català and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop (June 2026). Other highlights included a performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès and the concert Lux in voce alongside Sfere Vocali (May 2026).
Highlights of the 2026–27 season include a performance of Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah at the Palau de la Música Catalana, alongside the Orfeó Català and the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, conducted by Xavier Puig (May 2027); the premiere of Miguel de Jorge’s Concerto for Saxophone, Orchestra and Girls’ Choir, “Albes i nits”, with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès under the baton of Noemí Pasquina (November 2026); a concert featuring Eduard Iniesta’s Odissea and Els colors del mar (March 2027); the concert featuring works by Eric Whitacre, alongside the Orfeó Català and the Cor Jove de l’Orfeó Català (April 2027) and the concert Arrels, alongside the Asturian choir Aurum (May 2027).
Another highlight is the participation in the New York Philharmonic’s European tour, under the direction of its Music Director, Gustavo Dudamel, alongside the Orfeó Català and the Cor Infantil de l’Orfeó Català, performing John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls in five concerts in Paris (Philharmonie), Barcelona (L’Auditori), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional), Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie) and Vienna (Musikverein) in October 2026.
The Cor de Noies is part of the Choral School at the Orfeó Català, which is supported by: