2_Olivia Pérez-Collellmir © Darielle Rose.jpg
 

Olivia Pérez-Collellmir

 

 NEW ALBUM “OLIVIA”

The first album 'Olivia' (Adhyâropa Records) was released on September 15th. A collection of songs representative of the eclecticism and musical fusion that Pérez-Collellmir professes, exploring jazz, flamenco, classical music and Spanish folk traditions to create a universal sound without borders. 'Olivia' captures the native sounds of Barcelona, ​​her hometown. Original songs composed by the Catalan artist and arrangements of pieces by Maurice Ravel and Frederic Mompou with 'Barcelona' as the centerpiece of the project. She also takes some exotic approaches to India and the Middle East.

'Olivia' features 18 stellar collaborations such as Catalan singer Judit Neddermann, percussionist Aleix Tobias, flamenco artists Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández, bassist John Lockwood (legendary bassist who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny and Gonzalo Rubalcaba) and cellist Naseem Alatrash (member of the Turtle Island Quartet and 2023 Grammy nominee).

“This first album is fulfilling a dream after 10 years since my trip to the United States to study at Berklee. A journey of great dedication, sacrifice and renunciation dedicated completely to playing, acting, studying, researching, composing and educating. The realization of a path of personal search and the result of the creative path of a lifetime. 'Olivia' is the story of this journey. My identity, my voice and my language as an artist are here”. “I can't imagine life without music. Art in general and music in particular are the most direct and connected form of expression of the human soul. Music is my natural language. I need it to breathe, to live and to be happy. I started studying music when I was just 4 years old. It's been a part of me since I can practically remember. The passion started from the first moment,” she added about her philosophy.


B i o

 

Olivia Pérez-Collellmir is a solo pianist, bandleader, and composer from Barcelona, Spain. Noted in Arts Fuse as a “Spanish virtuoso” who adds “a flamenco touch to her chamber jazz,” Collellmir’s performance highlights include playing on the soundtrack of Isla Bonita by renowned director Fernando Colomo, a solo performance at the 25th anniversary gala of the six-time Grammy nominated Boston Baroque Orchestra, touring with Spanish Grammy nominee Rosana Arbelo, performing an honorary concert at Berklee for the legendary Rita Moreno, and performances for United States Secretary of State John Kerry, opera star Renée Fleming, and Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb. 

Peréz-Collellmir started playing piano at the age of five and began studying under Núria Bonells, a disciple of Alicia de Larrocha, and entered The Superior Conservatory of Music in Barcelona at the age of 8. As a young scholar pianist, Collellmir toured performing Faure's Nocturnes and Bach's Partitas and also
recorded for the National Radio of Spain. In addition, she was selected to play at the Centre de Musique Hindemith in Switzerland on the international performance piano stage. After receiving bachelor’s degrees in classical performance from the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona and philosophy from the University of Barcelona, Collellmir became a head of music for the Department of Education of Catalonia where she conducted, recorded, toured, and performed. In 2014, she received a full scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she moved, to expand her studies within the idioms of jazz and multicultural music, arrangements, orchestrations and conducting.

An honors graduate of Berklee with a dual major in Performance and Professional Music, Collellmir is the composer and performer of the award-winning compositions “Barcelona” and “Together,” which she premiered at the Berklee Performance Center. She is a winner of the Berklee Piano Department’s prestigious Chair Award, as well as a Piano Achievement Award.

Currently, Pérez-Collellmir is a member of the faculty in the Berklee piano department. As a tribute to her heritage, she incentivized the formation of the first Berklee Contemporary Spanish Music and Flamenco Jazz Ensemble, that culminated its work with artists in residence, renowned dancer Sonia Olla (choreographer of Madonna and Ricky Martin) and singer Ismael Fernández, at the Berklee Performance Center in January 2020.

As a performer, Pérez-Collellmir has performance residencies at The Beehive, the Beat Hotel, La Fábrica Central and performs at many other venues in the US and internationally: SOB’s in New York City, in Barcelona at El Gran Teatre del Liceu and Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, and in Boston at Regattabar, Ryles, Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Agganis Arena, among others. Besides that, her regular collaborations with Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández have been showcased in occasions such as the Salon Series of TEDxCambridge.

'Olivia' (Adhyâropa Records), the first album by Olivia Pérez-Collellmir, was released on September 15, 2023 and includes the artist's own music produced by Gonzalo Grau. It has stellar collaborations such as the Catalan singer Judit Neddermann, the percussionist Aleix Tobias, the flamenco artists Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández, the bassist John Lockwood (legendary bassist who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Gary Burton, PatMetheny and Gonzalo Rubalcaba) and the cellist Naseem Alatrash (member of the Turtle Island Quartet and 2023 Grammy nominee). The compositions and arrangements of this debut album have been awarded with the 'Berklee Faculty Fellowship Grant Award 2021-2022'.

 

WATCH

20_Olivia Pérez-Collellmir © Darielle Rose.jpg

Listen

 

Buy Now

〰️

Buy Now 〰️