Cor Petits
Artistic team
Mercè Pi
Conductor of the Cor Petits of Orfeó Català
"It is a great privilege being able to work with the children in the Cor Petits, because of the joy they communicate and their eagerness to sing better every day, with an enthusiasm which is beyond price. It's vital sustenance for me. I wouldn't change it for anything!"
Mercè Pi studied music at the Badalona Conservatory, where she gained professional qualifications in singing and music theory and the higher qualification in music teaching. She continued her studies with various international singing courses. She is currently studying modern clarinet.
She has always combined teaching work with singing as a member of various choral ensembles. She has been a member of the Cor Lieder Càmera, founded by Josep Vila, and has worked with the Capella de Santa Maria del Mar and the Cor Madrigal.
She has taught at the EMM in Premià de Mar since 1992. Since 2002 she has been a member of the teaching staff at the Escola Coral of the Orfeó Català, as director of the Cor Petits and teacher of musical language. She has worked on educational projects for the Escola Coral to foster choral singing in Bombay and Cameroon. Has been part of the social project Palau Vincles for many years. In 2023 he directed Cantaxics (ACEM) in the celebration of its 30th anniversary with all the music schools of Catalonia.
Laia Armengol
Pianist of the Choirs Mitjans and Petits of Orfeó Català
"Playing a part in these children's education is one of the most gratifying jobs I have ever done. Playing with them and experiencing the music all together is indescribable."
Laia Armengol born in Barcelona in 1981, she began her musical training at the age of 6 in the Escola Coral de l'Orfeó Català. She studied piano with Àngel Soler and Diana Baker. In 2002 she graduated from the Conservatori Superior de Música de Barcelona and moved to London to attend classes with Yonty Solomon and Douglas Finch at the Trinity College of Music in London, where she did a postgraduate course as an accompanying pianist and a master's degree in solo performance. She has also been advised by Miquel Farré, Mark Hastings, Francisco Poyato, Josep Colom, Eugene Asti, Roger Vignoles and George Hadjinikos, among others.
She has earned recognition as a soloist and a chamber musician in several competitions, including the Leonard Smith and Felicity Young Duo Competition and the John Halford Piano Competition, among others.
As a soloist and accompanying pianist she has performed in Spain and England. She is currently a performer of chamber music and a pianist accompanying solo singers and choirs.
She has recorded the CD La Fragua de Luna for flute and piano for Columna Música, in the "Young Performers" series through Juventudes Musicales de España and recently he has recorded the record Músiques elèctriques with Morphosis Ensemble (Ins Records), ensemble specialized in contemporary music. She has been working as a piano accompanist in the Escola Coral de l'Orfeó Català education project to foster choral singing in Yaoundé (Cameroon).
On the teaching side, she currently works at the Barcelona Municipal Conservatory of Music, and at the IEA Oriol Martorell in charge of the Higher Training Course in Choral Conducting Techniques and promoting the Oriol Martorell Chamber Choir, working as pianist and assistant conductor (dir. Daniel Antolí).