Joan Alfaras is a composer, producer and professor born in Barcelona in 1973.
As an author his work fit into two different groups. The first group includes works for violin, piano and string orchestra all of which are based on his experience as violin soloist and as a member of different orchestras and ensembles. Those experiences give him special knowledge about the possibilities of string instruments as well as their sonority and repertoire.
The second group of his writings are focused on the music he has created in his studio using synthesizers and digital instruments. In all of these works he has created new textures and sonorities to create a minimalist atmosphere and ambience. He also works as a producer of short subject movies, music videos and advertising.
Based on his work as a teacher Joan Alfaras created Stradivari, a collection that was first conceived for the violin and later also developed for viola, cello and string orchestra. This collection has achieved a magnificent reputation with both teachers and students throughout his native country where it is considered as the leading educational method. He is also the author of a collection of works at an advanced level for violin with piano accompaniment which is titled Stradivari virtuoso.
Joan Alfaras comes from a musical family. His maternal grandparents Josep Calvo (violin) and Núria Turull (piano) had an important influence on his musical education and their teaching led him to pursue a musical career. He studied in Barcelona at the Conservatorio del Liceo with the Cuban violinist Evelio Tieles and also at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with violinist Detlef Hahn.
Along with his study of the violin he was fascinated by modern music–especially jazz and electronic music. This fascination led him to the piano, synthesizers and composing with the computer. From this perspective of creativity based on experimentation and improvisation, he began to work with Michael Omer and Richard Gonski of the Guildhall School. Currently he is working on the creation of a compendium of atmospheric sonorities for electronic instruments titled Symmetrical.