About
Born in Tarragona, Marian Márquez began her musical studies at the Professional Conservatory of Music in Vila-seca with pianist Cecilio Tieles. She later completed her advanced piano studies with Àngel Soler.
In 2003 she graduated in Composition from the Conservatori Superior del Liceu, where she studied with Manuel Oltra, Lluís Vergés and Carles Guinovart. She has furthered her training with composers including Josep Soler, Leonardo Balada, Mauricio Sotelo and Luís Naón.
Her work has received several composition awards, including the Joaquim Maideu Prize, the Dolors Calvet Prize, the Ciutat de Reus Prize for children’s choirs, the Sincrònic Prize and the Ziryab Prize. In 2014, she was selected by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for the premiere of her work Synchronies. Her music is published by Dinsic, Periferia Música and Brotons & Mercadal, and since 2026 some of her works have been included in the catalogue of Universal Edition, Vienna.
Her output encompasses chamber music, choral works, stage music and contemporary opera, and has gained an increasing presence on the contemporary music scene. Her writing is characterised by expressive density, timbral exploration, a close attention to the voice, and a strong dramaturgical awareness of musical gesture.
In the field of opera, her chamber opera Filles del món, with a libretto by Ariadna Pastor, premiered in 2023 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as part of the Oh!Opera project, under the musical direction of Irene Delgado-Jiménez. The work reflects on assisted dying, memory and emotional bonds. In 2025, the production began its international trajectory with a performance at Teatro Biobío in Concepción, Chile, directed for the stage by Alícia Serrat.
Also in the field of staged music, La Jove Aïda, a production of the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Fundació Òpera a Catalunya, premiered on tour in 2026 and will be presented in the Sala Gran del Liceu during the 2026–2027 season. Developed in collaboration with Jordi Casanovas and Onionlab, the work offers a contemporary reimagining of Verdi’s Aida, combining transformed material from the original opera with newly composed music by Marian Márquez and musical direction by Dani Perpiñán.
In 2024, she was selected to take part in the European project Trans Europe Express, led by Ensemble Des Équilibres, with her work The Weight of Winter Light. In the 2026–2027 season, she will also take part in Cantagran with L’Auditori de Barcelona, a large-scale project that brings together contemporary creation and collective choral practice.
In the 2026–2027 season, Marian Márquez will be guest composer at the Palau de la Música Catalana. In this context, she will present several projects connected to vocal, chamber and instrumental writing: a new cantata for the Concert de Sant Esteve, with a libretto by the poet and Hebraist Manuel Forcano and performed by the choirs of the Orfeó Català; a new work for cobla and solo cello, conceived as a tribute to Pau Casals and commissioned by Cobla Sant Jordi-Ciutat de Barcelona; and a performance of her quartet La mirada eterna by the Gerhard Quartet.
With a career spanning choral music, staged work, chamber music and new interdisciplinary formats, Marian Márquez has developed a catalogue attentive to text and the expressive dimension of contemporary musical writing.
