Joan Alfaras is a composer, producer and pedagogue born in Barcelona in 1973.
As an author, his work is divided into two groups. In the first group, we can find his works dedicated to the violin, the piano, and the string orchestra, written thanks to his experience as a soloist violinist or as a member of several bands. This experience lets him pay attention to the possibilities of the string instruments, considering his sound and repertoire.
In the second group, we can find his music, which is created in his studio with synths and digital instruments. He looks for new sounds and textures constantly, so he can give an atmospheric, ambient and minimalist sound. He also produces, occasionally, for short-films, audiovisuals, and advertising.
Thanks to his dedication as a pedagogue, Joan Alfaras has written, composed and directed the Stradivari collection, which was thought, in the very beginning, for violins and was extended to viola, violoncello and string orchestra eventually. This collection has a great reputation between the teachers and students and has become a pedagogic material of reference.
Joan Alfaras comes from a family full of musicians: his maternal grandparents Josep Calvo (violin) and Núria Turull (piano) marked his education and brought him to a fully musical dedication. His career was formed in Conservatory of Liceo, with Evelio Tieles as his teacher, and in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama of London, with Detlef Hahn as his teacher.
Besides his violin education, his fascination for modern music – jazz and electronic music specially – made him get closer to the piano, the synths and the music creation with computers. Due to a creative freedom based on the experimentation and the improvisation, he started to work in these fields, extending, later on, his formation with the teachers Michael Omer and Richard Gonski, from the Guildhall School. In this field, he is currently working in the creation of several albums with atmospheric sounds for electronic instruments with the name of Symmetrical.
Alfaras is creating a new pedagogical method called Scherzando, besides a collection of advanced pieces for violin with piano accompaniment called Stradivari Virtuoso.