Biography

Montse Miàs is a composer and pianist from Girona, trained between Catalonia and the United States. After studying at the Conservatory of Girona and delving into the language of jazz in Madrid at the Escuela de Música Creativa, she was admitted in 2002 to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied with renowned teachers such as Yakov Gubanov, James R. Smith, and Tibor Pusztai. It was there that she discovered her vocation for composition and received several awards for works such as Theme and Variations on a Catalan Troubadour Song (string quartet) and The Coast of the Sirens (voice and percussion), which were performed in Boston venues including the David Friend Recital Hall.

Later, in 2005, she completed a master’s degree in composition at the New England Conservatory, studying with Malcolm Peyton and John Heiss. During this time, she composed works such as Piano Sonata, Luna (for string sextet and harp, with text by Leopardi), and Pícara for Piccalero (wind quartet), exploring a free and atonal language. Her orchestral work Japanese Garden was premiered at Jordan Hall, also in Boston.

After completing her studies, she settled in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she founded her own studio specialized in beginner piano instruction for students of all ages (children and adults), combining her teaching with creative work and performing in Boston venues such as Kaji Aso Studio, Brookline Tai-Chi, and Saint Paul’s Church.

Upon returning to Catalonia, she developed a unique voice influenced by minimalism and a more introspective aesthetic, seeking a connection between sound, her inner world, and nature. Highlights of her piano works include Ocells, premiered at the Valvi Foundation during the opening of Fiona Morrison’s exhibition El Vol (2019), as well as Cristal·lina, Out of Silence, and The Farewell, presented in recitals such as Retorn als Orígens (Ca l’Homs, Púbol, 2024). Also noteworthy is her choral piece Nadala de Llum, premiered at the Centre Cultural La Mercè in Girona and recorded by the vocal quartet FourGami (2018).

She currently resides in the Baix Empordà region, where she combines composition with teaching.

Selected score samples available here: