Laura Pou

In the orchestra since 2011

Laura Pou (Barcelona 1986) graduated with honours in Flute Performance at ESMuC, Barcelona where she studied with Magdalena Martínez and Júlia Gállego and baroque flute with Marc Hantaï. Supported by the scholarships from ‘Anna Riera’, the Spanish Council and Ibercaja she continued her studies at Trinity College of Music of London with Wissam Boustany and Emer McDonough, where she was awarded the Silver Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians of London.

In 2009 she was chosen for the London Philharmonic Orchestra program “Foyle Future Firsts” where she enjoyed a full year of collaborations with the orchestra, receiving coaching by the principals of the orchestra Jaime Martín and Stewart Mcwilham, and its principal conductor Valdimir Jurowsky.

At a really young age, she discovered her passion for ensemble playing as a member of several youth orchestras like JONC, Orquesta Presjovem, Britten Pears Orchestra and Conjunt XXI!. She has collaborated with Orquestra de Cadaqués, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Bern, Les Dissonances, Ensemble Resonaz, Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, bcn216, and the Diaghilev Festival Orchestra. In 2011 she was appointed Principal Flute of MusicAeterna by its conductor Teodor Currentzis with whom she has performed in the main international scenes: at Salzburg, PROMS and Luzerne Festivals. The ensemble’s musicians have been internationally awarded for their recordings with Sony Classics.

As a soloist, Laura Pou has performed with Camerata Bern, Rostov on Don Symphony Orchestra and MusicAeterna. She has participated in festivals like “Músics en Residència” in Alella, “Sömmerklänge” in Switzerland and “Musiques Vivantes” in Vichy, and she also enjoys playing eventually with pianist Alexander Melnikov.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE MUSIC WORLD?

Thanks to my parents who are extremely musically talented amateurs. They really wanted my sister and I to have a music education just to enjoy it as much as they did. Many kinds of different music were always playing at home: from Bach to flamenco, French chanson, Queen, old jazz, The Beatles…

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR WORKING ON A NEW PIECE?

It depends on how much time I have for it! Ideally, I always try to find out the context of when and where the piece was composed, either while or before I play it. I read relevant information and listen to different versions that can help me comprehend the difference the piece in question has from other musical pieces. This always has an influence on my playing. Then again, there’s of course a technical approach, but it is always led by the idea of how I want it to sound in the end and how I want it to be translated in my soul. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to prepare so deeply: music is very often viewed as a big factory constantly producing different styles, so, as a performer, you need to quickly adapt to any kind of style, taste or interpretation, and you need to be technically prepared to do any kind of magic… And if the preparation is not deep enough, the final result is just another interpretation. In the end, how can a concert be meaningful to the audience? I truly believe that it is still a big part of our mission to be well-informed in order to have the specific attitude allowing us to paint with all the colours music might need. This way, we could ultimately convey the story to the audience, telling it in the purest way possible: through our voice.

WHICH DO YOU FIND MORE EXCITING TO PLAY: MODERN OR CLASSICAL MUSIC?

Both! It is like asking if I prefer air or water… Excitement is in one’s soul, not in the music. It all depends on which kind of relationship is established between it and your purest inner energy, so it comes out in one way or the other.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO AT HOME?

Again, it depends on so many things: my mood, if I am alone, who I share it with, the time of the day, the music I am playing at that moment, the weather, and what I am listening to music for. I see life as a constant flow of changes, and so is the music that I choose to accompany me. Of course, there are some exceptions: baroque music, Billy Holiday, Cecilia Bartoli, Chet Baker.

WHAT DOES MUSICAETERNA MEAN TO YOU?

MusicAeterna has become my lifestyle. It’s also where I grew up as a performer after my studies — but now, 8 years later, I perceive it is a kind of an ongoing school where I learn from everyone who takes part in it. It’s a constant exchange of cultural and emotional relationships, all connected through music that has no end.