Born in 1971 (Pola De Siero, Spain), Pablo Fernández is the Principal Tuba of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) since 1994, Professor of Tuba, Euphonium, Specific Instrumental Repertoire and Chamber Music at the Superior School of Music of Catalonia (ESMUC) since 2001, Tuba Teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus (Starting in AC 2021/22) and founding member of the Spanish Tuba Quartet (STQ).
Pablo Fernández frequently works as a visiting professor, giving lectures and recitals throughout Europe. He also collaborates regularly with the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE), the National Youth Orchestra of Catalonia (JONC) and the Youth Orchestra of the Region of Murcia (OJRM).
He has given numerous concerts around the world, touring in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark, Japan and China; performing in renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall (New York), The Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Musikverein (Vienna) or the Royal Albert Hall (London).
In April 2001 he premiered the "Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra" by the composer Pere Josep Puértolas, during the season 2000-01 of the Barcelona Symphony Orquestra, under the direction of its principal conductor, Lawrence Foster.
Pablo Fernández is a founding member of the "Barcelona Trombone Quartet" (QTB), the "Barcelona Brass Ensemble", the “Barcino Brass Quintet” and the “STQ”. Since 2002 he has formed a duo with the pianist Rafael Salinas, with whom he develops the project "Tuba Lírica", regularly offering recitals and joint master classes all over Spain.
He has made numerous recordings for several labels like Auvidis, BIS, Claves, Decca, EMI, Koch, Naxos and Telarc, while working with well-known artists. His orchestra was awarded with two Latin Grammys for "Best Classical Album", in 2000 with the album of "La Dolores", in collaboration with the tenor Plácido Domingo, and in 2006 with the album of "Rahpsody in Blue”. The latter in collaboration with the Dominican pianist Michel Camilo. He has recently recorded the "Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra" by the composer Joan Maria Riera Blanch, in its piano version.
Furthermore Pablo Fernández collaborated with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Aarhus Symfoniorkester, the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, the Chamber Orchestra of the “Teatre Lluire”, the Vallés Symphony Orchestra, the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra , the Aalborg Symfoniorkester, the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Cadaqués Orchestra and the Bordeaux Symphony Orchestra amongst others, as well as renowned conductors and soloists such as Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Hildegard Behrens, Joshua Bell, Montserrat Caballé, Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Elihau Inbal, Dmitri Kitajenko, Gidon Kremer, Ute Lemper, Radu Lupu, Misha Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Viktoria Mullova, Emmanuel Pahud, Eva Pwodles, Vadim Repin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arcadi Volodos, Christian Zacharias, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Pinchas Zukerman and many others.
During the International Conference ITEC 2012, held at the "Brucknerhaus" in Linz (Austria), he was part of the jury of the International Tuba Competition. In July 2014 he was the host of the “AETYB Festival Barcelona 2014", the first national meeting in the history of the tuba and euphonium in Spain, organized by the Spanish Association of Tubas and Euphoniums (AETYB). In November 2016 he was part of the jury of the International Tuba Competition "Città di Porcia" (Italy), and in May 2019 he was part of the jury of the International Tuba Competition held at the University of Iowa (USA) within the ITEC 2019 International Conference.
Another part of his work is cultural management. In this context he has been Coordinator of the Instrumental Area of the Classical and Contemporary Department of the ESMUC, Vice President of the Catalan Tuba and Euphonium Association (ACATUB) and Treasurer and Public Relations of the Spanish Tuba Euphonium Association (AETYB). He is currently the President for the latter.
Pablo Fernández studied tuba with Miguel Moreno Guna at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and with Mel Culbertson at the National Conservatories of Bordeaux and Perpignan (France). He has taken courses and master classes with Roger Bobo (Tuba Legend), Keith Brown and Harvey Phillips (Indiana University), Childs Brothers (UK), Dale Clevenger (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Gene Pokorny (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) ), Warren Deck (New York Philharmonic), Walter Hilgers (German Brass), Miguel Navarro (Spanish National Orchestra), Guy Oudenaert (Flanders Opera Orchestra), Heiko Triebener (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra) and Willem van der Vliet (Radio Filharmonish Orkest).
He is currently on a leave of absence from his orchestra and lives in Denmark with his family. He combines the teaching at the ESMUC with his engagemetns as a Miraphone artist, the Spanish Tuba Quartet, the work as President for AETYB and presenting master classes and recitals throughout Europe.
His hobby is aviation. He has a Private Aircraft Pilot License (PPL) with single engine rating and flies a Cessna 172S G1000.
Since 2010 Pablo Fernández is a Miraphone performing artist. He plays on a Miraphone F Tuba 481 "Elektra".
