Vallès Symphony Orchestra (OSV) Presents 2024 Holy Week Concert Tour

This past weekend, the Palau de la Música Catalana hosted a landmark concert featuring over 180 choristers and 55 musicians on stage, marking the launch of the Vallès Symphony Orchestra’s (OSV) Holy Week Tour.

The production brings together five regional choirs and two soloists, who will join the orchestra across each city on the tour. Xavier Puig, conductor of the OSV’s traditional Holy Week series, has curated a program blending works by Barber, Jenkins, Rachmaninoff, and Bernstein, sung in Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic.

Now in its 14th edition, the tour—led by Maestro Puig—invites audiences on a musical journey bridging religious traditions. Highlights include Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, Barber’s Adagio/Agnus Dei, Allah Rakha Rahman’s Zikr – An Islamic Chant, and selections from Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.

A Message of Unity Through Music

Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms (1965), a three-movement choral work with Hebrew texts from the Book of Psalms, fuses Jewish and Christian traditions into a powerful plea for reconciliation and unity—a hallmark of the American composer’s oeuvre.

This year’s tour also features two child soloists and the voice of Jordi Vallespir, who performs the Arabic Prayer Song in Jenkins’ work. Participating choirs include:

• Granollers Chamber Choir (Josep Vila, conductor)

• Lleida’s Auditori Enric Granados Chamber Choir (Xavier Puig, conductor)

• Igualada Mixed Choir (Francesc Minguella, conductor)

• URV Choir (Montserrat Rios, conductor)

• Terrassa’s Cor Montserrat (Rosa Ribera, conductor)

At the Palau de la Música, these ensembles united for a one-time performance with the OSV’s 60 musicians, creating an unforgettable symphonic-choral spectacle.

A 25-Year Legacy of Community and Music

Since its inception in 2012 (the OSV’s 25th anniversary), the Holy Week Concert has become a cultural cornerstone, inviting choirs from across Catalonia to collaborate artistically and logistically. The project celebrates both musical excellence and social cohesion, empowering choirs—from amateur to semi-professional—to perform large-scale works otherwise beyond their individual reach.

Catalan choral tradition, one of the region’s most vibrant cultural expressions, thrives through institutions like these. By partnering with the OSV, choirs gain access to professional productions under Puig’s baton while bringing world-class performances to their hometowns.

Related Concert

Finished

2024-25

Bernstein's Chichester Psalms

An Interfaith Call for Peace

From 04.04.2025 to 04.15.2025

Palau de la Música Catalana, LaFact Cultural Terrassa, Auditori Enric Granados, Teatre Auditori Granollers, Teatre Tarragona

Other Symphonics Symphonics at the Palau