2023 PUJOL UNIVERSE | Torrebesses prepare to relive Emili Pujol’s music in an exciting celebration

Torrebesses will host the second edition of the Pujol Guitar Clinic Campus and also the Emili Pujol International Guitar Competition.
The Garrigues region will once again feature the twelfth edition of Guitarfest, with musical performances centered around the guitar and heritage.

Torrebesses | April 23, 2023 | 12:36 p.m.

After three years of adverse situations, the municipality of Torrebesses will once again be the center of the Emili Pujol Universe. Although the Pujol Symposium has been carried out normally since it was founded in 2012, talks and shows that identify the importance of the figure of the Catalan musician. It could not have been the same way with the Campus and the Pujol Contest, international events that made their development difficult due to the restrictions and complex logistics involved. The first edition of the Pujol Contest was held in 2019 at La Granadella. This year Torrebesses will be the new space where the second edition of the event will take place together with the campus, since it has the necessary infrastructures for this type of event.

The Pujol Universe is funded by the European Next Generation funds, which aim to expand and diversify the cultural offerings in non-urban areas of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is also part of the “Ecosistema Cultura Territorio” project for the sectoral articulation of the Culture and Ruralities program of the ‘Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan’.

The proposal aims to become a hub of creation, production, exhibition, and artistic competition related to the figure and work of master Emili Pujol, whose central axis is the guitar instrument, developed in a rural and experimental environment, with nature and its ecosystem as a connecting element.

The Pujol Universe comprises four interconnected events:

Garrigues Guitar Festival, an international meeting of plucked string instruments featuring the most prominent and emerging figures on the international scene. “This twelfth edition will once again feature great artists and young emerging talents during the months of July and August.”
Emili Pujol Symposium, monographic days with illustrative testimonies and documentary and creative exhibits that showcase the human figure and artistic relevance of the illustrious musician. “We will once again have specialists who will reveal aspects of the master pedagogue’s figure and his transcendental musicological work.”

Emili Pujol Guitar Clinic Campus, stays for the bodily search for physical and mental balance combined with the methodical study of classical guitar under the pedagogical philosophy of Master Pujol. “This second edition will take place at the Dry Stone Interpretation Center in Torrebesses from July 24 to 27, and will feature specialists from the Performing Arts Prevention Center in fundamental areas such as physiotherapy, Pilates, psychology, and nutrition for the correct performance of the artist. For technical work with the instrument, we will have guitarists María Esther Guzmán and Carles Herraiz, and David Murgadas for ancient instruments.”
Emili Pujol International Guitar Competition, a classical guitar performance competition for guitarists up to 35 years old, which aims to explore and illustrate his compositional work. “The second edition will take place at the Sant Salvador Church of Torrebesses on July 29 and 30, and the master Emili Pujol’s Cubana piece will be the required score to develop in the first phase. Award winners will receive cash prizes and concerts along with study scholarships for special awards for the best performance of Pujol’s work and the audience’s decision.”