Oriol Saña ‘98 Brings Jazz Fiddle to Barcelona

When violinist and educator Oriol Saña returned to Berklee last month from his native Barcelona, his overarching goal was to build a bridge between the two cities and connect Berklee with like-minded institutions from Spain.

January 12, 2015

When violinist and educator Oriol Saña returned to Berklee last month from his native Barcelona, his overarching goal was to build a bridge between the two cities and connect Berklee with like-minded institutions from Spain.

“It’s really important to have these connections,“ said Saña, who visited his alma mater for the first time since graduating in 1998 to meet with faculty and to attend two standing-room only jazz master classes during Rob Thomas's Jazz Violin Lab. He added that he has remained in contact with his colleagues and teachers from the String Department, including Matt Glaser, Mimi Robson, John Blake, and Darol Anger. "The world is like a big community."

Saña, a professor of modern and jazz violin at the the Catalonia College of Music since 2002 and the first to implement this degree in Spain, started the Barcelona Fiddle Congress in 2013 to bring jazz fiddle to his country through an ongoing series of concerts, workshops, and fiddle camps involving more than 400 students.

 

"As impressive as Oriol's journey from being an exclusively classical musician to becoming a master of many styles is his passion for education, outreach, and social justice," said String Department chair David Wallace. "The sheer scope of the projects and conferences he has led in Spain is astounding."

Having performed in symphony orchestras as well as bluegrass groups around the world, Saña brings a wealth of experience gigging, recording, and teaching throughout Europe to each project. He is currently planning a follow-up to his album Experiment 1.0 with jazz guitarist Albert Bello, featuring improvisations based on the last songs of Django Reinhardt, and is working on a Ph.D. in musicology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.