Ona Cardona

Ona Cardona is a sensitive musician who combines solo performance, chamber, and orchestral music, enjoying a wide repertoire from classicism to contemporary premieres.

She has performed at the main Spanish halls, such as Palau de la Música and L’Auditori de Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Palau de la Música de València, Auditorio de Zaragoza, also appearing at international festivals such as Granada, Segovia, Castell de Peralada, Úbeda, La Porta Ferrada, Al-Kalat, Santa Cristina d’Aro, Schubertíada de Vilabertran, Canfranc, Quincena Donostiarra. She has also performed throughout Europe (Wigmore Hall, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Barbican Hall, Würmtaler Musikfest, Berlin Konzerthaus) as well as in the United States (Carnegie Hall) and China (Nanjing Music Hall).

As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as Radiotelevisión Española, Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Sinfónica de Extremadura, OCAZ Enigma, Orquesta de Córdoba, Nacional de Cambra d’Andorra or Simfònica de les Illes Balears, among others. Passionate about chamber music, she usually appears with artists such as Alexandar Madzar, Gerold Huber, Denis Pascal, Enrique Bagaría, Juliane Banse, Mojca Erdmann, Maximilian Hornung, Ramón Ortega, The Soloists of London, or the quartets Lotus, AmarArt and Casals.

In the orchestral sphere, she has been a soloist in the Young National Orchestra of Spain, and currently collaborates with prestigious orchestras, notably Orquesta de Cadaqués; linked to her roots, she is principal clarinet of Orquestra de Cambra Illa de Menorca. She works with renowned directors such as Adrian Leaper, Vassily Petrenko, Salvador Mas, Virginia Martínez, George Pehlivanian, Peter Rundel, Christian Curnyn, Jaime Martín, Eva Ollikainen, Krzysztof Penderecki, Nuno Coelho or Vladimir Ashkenazy.

She has recorded for Radio Nacional de España, Catalunya Música, Televisión Española, D + 3 Artmusic Project, Trito and Anacrusi, her performances being broadcasted internationally. Among her discography, it is remarkable the CD for Columna Música including the World premiere recording “Suite for Solo Clarinet” by Michel Camilo, as well as “Chiaroscuro” for Eudora Records, romantic works by Johannes Brahms, Robert, and Clara Schumann with pianist Josep Colom, with whom she performs regularly.

Very committed to contemporary creation, many composers have dedicated their scores to her, premiering works by Carles Santos, Alberto García-Demestres, Gabriel Brnčić, Jesús Rodríguez-Picó, Julian Philips, Laura García Olalla, Cimeon Ellerton, Pedro Faria Gomes, Solfa Carlile, Mark Wolf, Timothy Lissimore or Henrik Goldschmidt.

Licensed from the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, she obtained a Master with Distinction at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama of London. She has also studied at the Royal College of Music of London and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, highlighting Concurso Nacional Intercentros de Grado Superior, Concurso Permanente de Juventudes Musicales de España and El Primer Palau International Competition.

With extensive teaching experience, she regularly offers masterclasses in which she integrates the principles of the Trager Approach®. Having previously taught at Conservatori Superior de Música de les Illes Balears and Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, she has recently been appointed Professor of Clarinet at Conservatorio Superior de Música de Málaga.