/BIOGRAPHY: CONCERTS, AWARDS, EDUCATION & MORE
Maria Coll Torra (Manresa, Barcelona) is rapidly forging a reputation as a performer in the world of classical music.
A prize winner in international competitions, most recently the Gustav Mahler Cello Prize (2020) in the Czech Republic, she opened the 2022/2023 season of the Orquesta Filarmónica del Desierto by performing the A. Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor under the baton of conductor Nathanael Espinoza in Saltillo, Mexico.
Maria is very active both as a soloist and ensemble member, and has appeared on many stages internationally, such as the New World Center in Miami Beach, The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki.
She has recently been invited to attend festivals such as Cellofest Helsinki (Finland), Miami Music Festival (USA), The Hague Chamber Music Festival (The Netherlands), The Aurora Music Festival (Sweden), Academia Internacional de Música de Solsona (Spain), Allegro Vivo (Austria), Music with Masters (Italy) and the Esperus Art Fund (France).
A native of the Barcelona region, Maria began her musical studies at the age of seven in her home town at the Conservatory of Manresa under the tutelage of Amparo Lacruz and Anna Costa. After completing her bachelor’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague (The Netherlands) in 2017 she continued her studies in Amsterdam with Michael Stirling (principal cellist of the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest) and Martti Rousi (2nd prize Tchaikovsky International Competition) in Helsinki. In addition, she worked in Miami USA with Emilio Colón (Indiana University)
Since 2020, she participates in the Esperus Artfund, where she receives yearly masterclasses by Gary Hoffman. She has also been influenced by masterclasses by Roel Dieltiens, Boris Andrianov, Stefan Popov, Marko Ylönen, Lluís Claret, Gustav Rivinius, Alexander Chaushian, David Cohen and Jacob Shaw of the Scandinavian Cello School (Denmark). In 2023 she attended the Mischa Maisky masterclass at the Stauffer Center for Strings in Cremona, Italy.
Maria currently performs on a cello by Yangbin Chen, with a bow by Harm Bakker and is based in Barcelona.
