Even though she took her first steps in the world of classical music, her free and innovative spirit allowed Mireia Clua to find her identity as a violinist in modern music.
Her musical training began at an early age at the Andorran Conservatory of Music, which allowed her to be part of the first generation of the Andorran Youth Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Claret. Later, Mireia continued her musical studies in the Aula de Música Moderna del Liceu, in Barcelona, under the tutelage of Professor Ernesto Briceño, and in Taller de Músics de Barcelona, with Carlos Caro. Under the tutelage of the two violinists, Mireia became fascinated with the violin improvisation.
She has always been inspired by the desire to create and compose her own music, as well as to understand musical harmony beyond the sheet music. But the turning point was when, in a course in which she took part, she witnessed the improvisational skills of a classical violinist. “When he played and improvised, I was amazed at the way he flowed. I said: I want to do this!” confessed Mireia, who now has an unmistakable musical style.
After living in Barcelona and being part of the group Carnal, winner of the Sona 9 competition and finalist of the Carles Sabaté Prize for song in Catalan, she joined the Orquestra Iberoamericana de Barcelona, where she played a wide musical repertoire of Latin American composers. It was in this city that she became interested in the pedagogy of the violin, and worked as a teacher of this instrument and children’s orchestra. Later, in 2011, she published the book Plink!, to help young violinists invent melodies and improvise creatively without limits.
Her passion for music and her social awareness brought her to Latin America, specifically to Nicaragua, where she was at the head of the pedagogical program of the NGO Música para Vivir, in the René Cisneros neighborhood of the Nicaraguan capital. At the same time, she was a violin teacher at the Casa de los Tres Mundos in Granada and later, in the Dominican Republic, created the project Música Maestro, to train primary school teachers in music in a rural area of the province of Monte Plata.
Returning to Andorra in 2018, Mireia further ignited her musical spark that makes her so different, through her own compositions for electric violin and looper pedal, which allows her to add layers of bass, percussion and accompaniment, to create the effect of a full band. Her mastery and versatility to tackle styles such as funk, bossa nova, latin, blues, pop, jazz and classical music, are the key to her charm, and opened the doors of the CIB Fest, a cultural festival organized out by the Organization of Latin American States, which was held last September in Madrid.
In Andorra, she has played at Jambo Stret Music Festival 2019, performed live at the Harlem Music Bar and other venues, and also played at the starting line of the 10th edition of the Illa Carlemany Popular Race.
Throughout her life she has worked in the world of music and, in addition to her presentations, she continues to teach courses in musical creativity and improvisation, and to create learning materials for the American method Improvise for Real. Mireia is currently working on her first album with compositions for electric violin and hopes to record it by 2020, but in the meantime we can enjoy her video clips on YouTube and her Instagram profile.
Article written by César de Pablo and originally published by Dona Secret Magazine
Andorra, November 4, 2019
Read the original article in Catalan here:
https://www.donasecret.com/cultura/mireia-clua-musica/
