“Faced with an acoustically optimal yet undoubtedly challenging space for the instruments, and with the risk that Xenakis’s radical poetics might have been diluted, Asier Puga delivered a rigorous performance of spasmodic energy — not even diminished by the textual interpolations of the narrator, Simón Ferrero, who was effective in his contextual role.”
ÓPERA ACTUAL, Ismael G. Cabral (critic)
July 4, 2023
Asier Puga, Principal and Artistic Director of the Zaragoza Auditorium Chamber Orchestra – Grupo Enigma since 2020, trained as a conductor under Peter Stark, Robin O’Neill, and Howard Williams at the Royal College of Music in London, where he graduated with the highest distinction. He previously studied with Arturo Tamayo, Manel Valdivieso, and Enrique García Asensio at the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco (Musikene). He furthered his studies by attending masterclasses with renowned conductors such as Pierre Boulez (Lucerne Festival Academy), Diego Masson (London Sinfonietta Academy), and Martin André (RCM), among others.
In his professional career, he has conducted the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, Basque National Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Itinéraire, Explore Ensemble, Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra, Taller Sonoro, Burgos Symphony Orchestra, RCM Philharmonic Orchestra, RCM Symphony Orchestra, RCM New Ensemble, and the municipal bands of Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bilbao, as well as the Orquesta Clásica de Lanzarote, among others.
He has performed in prestigious festivals and concert halls such as the Zaragoza Auditorium, L’Auditori Barcelona, Palau de la Música de Valencia, Auditorio 400 – Reina Sofía, Kings Place (London), Teatros del Canal (Madrid), Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Euskalduna Palace, Espacio Turina, Fundación Juan March, Britten Theatre, Festival Carmelo Bernaola, and the Guggenheim Museum, among others.
Interested equally in symphonic, vocal, and operatic repertoire as well as in new forms of contemporary expression, Asier Puga has collaborated with prominent artists such as choreographer, dancer, and performance artist La Ribot (with whom he co-directed the show Juana), actor Juan Loriente, flamenco singer and multidisciplinary artist Niño de Elche, jazz drummer Gonzalo del Val and his trio, filmmaker María Ruido, composer and sound artist Llorenç Barber, performer Carlos Llavata, and flamenco dancer and researcher Fernando López.
Interested equally in symphonic, vocal, and operatic repertoire as well as in new forms of contemporary expression, Asier Puga has collaborated with prominent artists such as choreographer, dancer, and performance artist La Ribot (with whom he co-directed the show Juana), actor Juan Loriente, flamenco singer and multidisciplinary artist Niño de Elche, jazz drummer Gonzalo del Val and his trio, filmmaker María Ruido, composer and sound artist Llorenç Barber, performer Carlos Llavata, and flamenco dancer and researcher Fernando López.In 2014, he made his operatic debut with Haydn’s Armida, and in 2015 conducted the world premiere of Michael Oliva’s Singularity. Asier has also studied vocal accompaniment with pianist Maciej Pikulski. His growing passion for the vocal world has led him to work with numerous singers, including Carlos Mena, Astrid Nordstad, Alejandro del Cerro, Maciej Nerkovsky, Maria Ostroukhova, Helena Orcoyen, and Julien Van Mellaerts, among others.
Asier Puga served as assistant conductor to Robert Treviño and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Sweden) during the 2019 Beethoven Festival, where they performed and recorded the complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies.
