Meet Oreka Reed Quintet
We are a professional classical and contemporary music ensemble, performing concerts internationally. Discover our passion for music and join us on this musical journey.
Let yourself be carried away by this beautiful journey through emotions...
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Our history
Oreka Reed Quintet is a group born in 2019 in Donostia-San Sebastián. It is made up of five musicians from different parts of the Iberian Peninsula (Galicia, Euskadi, Catalonia and Castilla y León).
They have created a group with its own character and personality, taking advantage of the diversity of colours and sounds offered by such an unusual formation as the reed quintet. In addition, Oreka Reed Quintet seeks to innovate in the field of classical music by working with different national and international composers, and by contributing a creative vision and quality to each of the concert programmes it presents. The ensemble focuses on all musical, artistic, visual and sound aspects, focusing on new music, creating unique projects and collaborating with personalities of the world artistic scene.
Oreka (‘balance’ in Basque) Reed Quintet (quintet of reeds) is the name we chose for the group, which defines the main elements of the quintet. This balance is the main value we want to transmit: emotional, physical and mental balance. In short: a balance that we should all seek in all aspects of life.
The quintet performs all over the world and has participated in some of the main classical music festivals and cycles, (such as the well-known San Sebastian Musical Fortnight cycle in 2020), with the aim of bringing their music to each of the spectators who attend their concerts. Through a first-person experience, the audience can identify with the music and emerge in the emotions of his musical adventures.
Members
Nicolás Cabaleiro Somoza (Oboe)
Nicolás Cabaleiro Somoza was born in Pontevedra (Galicia) in 1998. At the age of 7 he entered the Manuel Quiroga Professional
Conservatory of Music, specialising in oboe, obtaining the end-of-degree prize at the end of his studies.
He then entered the Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco (MUSIKENE), where he continued his training with maestros
Christian Wetzel, Peter Veale and Pascal Laffont. He is currently studying postgraduate studies at HFMDK Mannheim with
Professor Emmanuel Abbühl. As a complement to his training he has attended several masterclasses with top musicians such
as Daniela Tessman, Eduardo Martínez, Eric Speller, Jacques Tys and Washington Barella, among others.
He has worked under the direction of maestros of the stature of Peter Eötvös, Eliahu Inbal, Maxime Pascal and Christoph König.
He collaborates with many orchestras throughout Europe and Asia, including Helsinborg Symfonieorkester, Philharmonie
Baden-Baden, Staatsteather Darmstadt, Staatsteather Kaiserslautern, BOS (Bilbao Symphony Orchestra), Nationaltheater
Mannheim, Korean National Symphony Orchestra and Philarmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.
Apart from his orchestral work, he has performed as a soloist both individually in Oscar Navarro's ‘Legacy’ and with the Oreka Reed Quintet in the premiere of Eduardo Moreno's ‘Bost’.
Ignasi Candelas Carreras (Bassoon)
Born in Vila-seca (Tarragona) in 1996, he began his musical training at the Professional Conservatory of Music in his home town at the age of 5. Subsequently, he studied at Musikene - Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco, with the teachers David Tomàs, Álvaro Prieto, Javier Aragó and Vicent Alario. Simultaneously, he has broadened his knowledge with bassoonists such as Gustavo Núñez, Noè Cantú, Enrique Abargues, Pieter Nuytten, Guillermo Salcedo, Simon van Holen, Eckart Hübner, Malte Refardt, Higinio Arrué and Donna Argell, among others. In the year 2020/2021, he combined his training with two master's degrees: the Master's Degree in Music Performance in the speciality ‘bassoon soloist’ at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León (COSCYL), together with Álvaro Prieto, and the Master's Degree in Teacher Training, at the University of Salamanca. He also holds a degree in Primary Education, with a major in music.
He has collaborated with orchestras such as the Euskadiko Orkestra, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa (BOS), Orquestra
d'Extremadura (OEX), Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca, Orquestra Camerata XXI, Jove Orquestra Nacional de
Catalunya (JONC and JONC Alevins), Jove Orquestra Simfònica de Castelló (JOSC), Jove Orquestra Simfònica de Burgos
(JOSBu) or the Jove Orquestra InterComarcal (JOIC), among others. He has also participated in other ensembles such as
the Banda Simfònica de Reus (BSR) or the Banda Sinfónica Federal de Extremadura (BAFEX) and in several chamber music
groups such as the Oreka Reed Quintet, of which he is a founding member.
Parallel to his speciality studies and teaching, composition and conducting have always been some of his musical
interests, thanks to the training received by Rafael Fabregat, Margarita Lorenzo de Reízabal and Javier Castro in the field
of conducting, with whom he has been trained for six years, and by the composer Ramon Humet (Queen Sofia Prize in
2006), in the field of composition, receiving his advice for three years.
Currently, he maintains his artistic activity in parallel with different performances in various orchestras, bands and
chamber ensembles, with teaching activities in various music schools, conservatories and educational centres in Catalonia.
He is also the artistic director and organiser of different classical chamber music cycles such as the Tardor Musical in
Mont-ral - Farena. Musical in Mont-ral - Farena and Música Priorat.
Raúl Pérez Cuartango (Saxophone)
Raúl Pérez Cuartango (Briviesca, Burgos, 13 March 1996) is a saxophonist trained in various renowned institutions. He began
his musical studies at the Escuela de Música de Briviesca, under the direction of Ismael Peñaranda, and continued his training
at the Conservatorio Profesional Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, where he studied classical saxophone with professors Marcos
Palancares and Pablo Pardo. In 2021 he completed his advanced studies at the Conservatorio Superior de Música del País Vasco
(MUSIKENE), under the tutelage of Miguel Ángel Lorente and Thomas Bartelemy. In 2022 he completed his Master's Degree in
Classical and Contemporary Music Performance at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), with Mariano García
and Nacho Gascón as mentors.
Throughout his career, Raúl has had the opportunity to receive masterclasses from renowned international saxophonists
such as Arno Bornkamp, Claude Delangle, Vincent David, Cristian Wirth, Vincent Lequang, Nicolas Arsenijevic, Andrés Gomis,
Ángel Soria and Federico Coca, among others.
As a performer, he has collaborated with prestigious ensembles such as the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (BOS), the Burgos Military
Band and the Burgos Big Band. He is also a member of the Municipal Band of Briviesca and forms part of the Big Bureband, as well as the saxophone quartet Lauburu. He has had the opportunity to perform on important stages and festivals, such as the Palacio Kursaal, the Palacio Euskalduna, the Gran Teatro de Burgos, the Palau de Valencia, the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, the Palacio de Miramar, as well as at festivals such as the Quincena Musical de Donostia-San Sebastián, the Fundación Kutxa and Juventudes Musicales Bilbao.
Raúl Pérez Cuartango is also a teacher, dedicated to the training of new musicians. He has taught at the Briviesca Music School, and in the nearby towns of Belorado and Pradoluengo.
He is also a member of the Military Music Corps, contributing to musical training in this context.
His career is characterised by a solid academic training and outstanding work in both performance and music teaching.
Eduardo Villarroel Mera (Bass Clarinet)
Clarinettist born in Burgos in 1998, he began his training in his hometown, at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos under the tutelage of Joaquín Carvajal, where he also received classes from Gina Lisa Gazzaniga and David Romero.
In 2020 he finished his advanced degree at Musikene (Centro de Música del País Vasco) under the guidance of José Luis
Estellés, Sergio Barranco, Antony Pay and Henri Bok. He then completed a master's degree in classical performance in
Holland, at the Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts, with Eddy Vanoosthuyse and Henri Bok. He has also completed
a Master's Degree in Jazz and Modern Music Performance and Composition at the University of La Rioja (UNIR), and
continues to train in the field of jazz with important figures on the music scene. In addition, he is one of the members of
the Jazz and World Music Committee of the International Clarinet Association (ICA).
He has furthered his knowledge with clarinetists of the stature of Julian Bliss, Carlos Gil, Charles Neidich, Calogero Palermo,
Ricardo Morales, Miguel Expósito, Venancio Rius, Harri Mäki, Jesús Serrano, José Franch-Ballester, Philippe Berrod, Luis
Gómes, among others.
He has collaborated with both young and professional orchestras and bands, such as the Concertgebouworkest and the
Dutch Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, the Orquesta de Euskadi (OSE), the Opera Zuid in Maastricht, the Bilbao Symphony
Orchestra (BOS), the Jong Metropole Orchestra, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Burgos (JOSBu), the Nationaal Jeugdorkest (NJO), the Symphony Orchestra of Burgos (OSBu), the City Orchestra of Granada (OCG) or the Municipal Band of Bilbao. All this has has allowed him to work under the tutelage of conductors such as Juanjo Mena, José Rafael Pascual- Vilaplana, Johan de Meij, Giancarlo Guerrero, Javier Castro, Giancarlo de Meij, Javier Castro Guerrero, Javier Castro, Giancarlo Andretta, Arturo Tamayo, Eduardo Portal and Juan Luis Martínez.
In the field of chamber music, he is the bass clarinettist of the Oreka Reed Quintet, of which he is a founding member. This This unusual group offers him a particular diversity of colours and sounds, which allows him to perform renewed and striking concert formats based on the balance of emotions.
Aitor Aburto Iracizabal (Clarinete)
Clarinettist, orchestra conductor and teacher, born in Bilbao, he studied at Musikene - Centro Superior de Música studies
at Musikene - Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco to train as a performer with with José Luis Estellés, Antony Pay,
Sergio Barranco and Henri Bok. At the same time, he received classes from clarinettists such as Carlos Gil, Harri Mäkki, Julian
Bliss and Antonio Salguero. Later, he entered the Centro Superior de Música Katarina Gurska, where he did a Master's Degree
in Orchestral Conducting with Borja Quintas, Miquel Rodrigo and Nacho de Paz among others. In this In this field, he has
also received training from teachers such as Margarita Lorenzo, Peter Stark, Mark Heron and José Rafael-Pascual
Vilaplana.
Currently, he is a member of several chamber ensembles, among them Oreka Reed Quintet, Tío Sostenuto and Dúo
Aburto/Alciturri, with whom he has performed at numerous national and international festivals.
In the orchestral field, he has collaborated with the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa and the Bilbao Municipal Band. He has been a
member of the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE) and Euskal Herriko Gazte Orkestra (EGO). In 2023 he joined the
West Side Story Orchestra for an international tour with the musical West Side Story, produced by BB Promotion. He has
performed under the baton of conductors such as Gustavo Gimeno, Rumon Gamba, Frank Ollu, Anthony Gabrielle, Peter
Eötvös, Arturo Tamayo, Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana and José Luis Estellés, among others.
As a conductor, he has been the chief conductor of the Leioako Musika Banda and guest conductor of the Galdakaoko ‘Da Capo’ Musika Banda. He has also been assistant conductor of the Euskal Herriko Gzte Orkestra (EGO).
In addition to his musical studies, he also teaches Primary Education, specialising in Music Education (UPV/EHU). In 2023 he was selected by the Basque Government's Global Training Scholarships to collaborate in the educational project of the Euskadi School in Medellín (Colombia).
