By Lluís Cabrera
Photo: © Maud-Sophie Andrieux
Lluís Cabrera explains when and how singer Rosalía studied at Taller de Músics’ schools in Barcelona’s Raval and Sant Andreu de Palomar neighbourhoods.
With the Lux tour now completed and having received the 2026 National Award for Contemporary Music (Premio Nacional de las Músicas Actuales), Rosalía is once again at the centre of the music world’s attention. In this context, I would like to clarify a few points about the Catalan artist, with one purpose in mind: to help shed light on the years Rosalía spent studying at Taller de Músics, as well as the productions, concerts, projects and activities in which she took part during her training.
This historical account was necessary given the difficulties many media outlets face when trying to write about Rosalía’s educational journey in Barcelona. The flood of information published by traditional and digital media outlets around the world contains both facts and inaccuracies.
The two books published before the start of the Lux tour in April 2026, Rosalía por ahí por Barcelona… (Maricel Chavarría, Libros de Vanguardia) and Buscando a Rosalía (Oriol Rodríguez and Yeray S. Iborra, Libros del Kultrum), provide a fairly accurate account of the artist’s academic journey. However, they do not mention the stages, platforms and initiatives through which Rosalía began to make her way in the music world before Los Ángeles, her first album co-led with musician and producer Raül Fernández Miró, known as Refree.
When did Rosalía study at Taller de Músics?
Rosalía Vila Tobella enrolled at Taller de Músics Music School in January 2010, at our premises in the Raval neighbourhood, a school we established in 1979. It was here that she met the person who would remain her flamenco singing teacher, José Miguel Vizcaya Sánchez, known as Chiqui de la Línea (La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz, 1951). Throughout 2010, 2011 and the first half of 2012, Rosalía studied a range of theoretical and practical subjects within the school’s jazz and flamenco programmes.
In June 2012, Rosalía passed the entrance examination for higher music studies with a very good mark at our centre in Barcelona’s Sant Andreu district, in the Can Fabra building: Taller de Músics Higher School of Music (ESEM). She completed her first year of higher studies during the 2012–2013 academic year and her second year during 2013–2014, following the curriculum established by the regulations of the Government of Catalonia and overseen by AQU (the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency). Throughout this period, her principal flamenco singing teacher continued to be José Miguel Vizcaya Sánchez, who at the time taught at both Taller de Músics ESEM and ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya).
In September 2014, Rosalía Vila and another young cantaora, Ana Casado, decided to request the transfer of their academic records from Taller de Músics ESEM to ESMUC, a process that was completed without any difficulty.
One possible motivation for this change was that both students recognised two clear facts. On the one hand, José Miguel Vizcaya Sánchez taught the principal flamenco singing subject at both institutions. On the other, tuition fees were considerably lower at ESMUC, as it is a public educational institution funded by the Education Department of the Government of Catalonia.
Both Taller de Músics Music School (Raval) and Taller de Músics ESEM (Sant Andreu) rely primarily on student tuition fees, since both institutions are run by a private, non-profit foundation. For the educational work carried out at these centres, Fundació Privada Taller de Músics receives no subsidies from any public administration.
At ESMUC, Rosalía completed the third and fourth years of her higher music studies, as well as her final degree project (TFT or TFG). This was a conceptual project based on the medieval Occitan novel Flamenca, also known as Roman de Flamenca, inspired by an idea from Andalusian artist Pedro G. Romero. That academic project evolved and eventually became the album El mal querer (2018).
Taller de Músics ESEM and ESMUC hold the same academic status: both institutions offer higher music studies, and neither ranks above the other. When some media outlets claim that Rosalía studied “higher music studies” at ESMUC but only “music studies” at Taller de Músics, they convey an inaccurate picture of the academic reality.
Which higher music schools are there in Barcelona?
Barcelona currently has five institutions offering higher music studies. All hold the same academic status, must meet the same requirements and are supervised by AQU: ESMUC (public), Taller de Músics ESEM, Conservatori del Liceu, SAE Creative Media Education and Jam Session (the latter four being private institutions). In Girona, the Government of Catalonia’s Education Department has also recently authorised a new higher music institution, EUMES, Escola Superior de Música Avançada i So.
Rosalía’s relationship with Taller de Músics’ Management & Productions department dates back to the moment she first enrolled at our Raval school. This relationship continued throughout her time at Taller de Músics ESEM and remained in place while she completed her higher studies at ESMUC, until 2016.
“From the classroom to the stage” has been a guiding principle throughout Taller de Músics’ history, dating back to its foundation in 1979. Without stages, performance platforms and a firm commitment to creating professional opportunities for young musicians —regardless of whether they study at an unregulated arts school or a higher education institution—, professionalisation is unlikely to succeed.
In Rosalía’s case, as in many others, this process of moving “from the classroom to the stage” worked with remarkable intensity. I believe that any educational approach in the arts can be valid. However, live performance should be a fundamental principle, especially when exceptional talent such as Rosalía’s is identified.
Any young student who chooses to join Taller de Músics, regardless of their level of study, and who demonstrates commitment to learning and sufficient aptitude, is registered with the Spanish Social Security system and paid the corresponding performance fee when hired by the Management & Productions department to perform on stage.
Performances by Rosalía through the Management & Productions department of Fundació Privada Taller de Músics (2011–2016):
- 2011–2016: Various performances at JazzSí Club (Barcelona).
- 21/06/2012: Rosalía recorded the song Last Night Was Eternal for the fashion brand Desigual to mark Music Day.
- 05/07/2012: Ballant a la sorra. Choreography by Maria Rovira and music by Chicuelo. Teatre Grec (Barcelona).
- 15/03/2013: Casal de la Dona, Tempo Series. Palafolls (Barcelona).
- 11 and 12/04/2013: Chicuelo i Rosalía, Panama International Film Festival (Panama), featuring music from the film Blancanieves, directed by Pablo Berger.
- 28/06/2013: Las Migas i Rosalía, Festival Quérencis. Céret (France).
- 31/07/2013: Hotel Pulitzer (Barcelona).
- 21 and 22/09/2013: Ateneu Banyoles, Banyoles (Girona), and Teatre Mundial, La Bisbal d’Empordà (Girona).
- 09/10/2013: Auditori de l’Espai Cultural Fundació Sabadell 1859. Sabadell (Barcelona).
- 23/11/2013: Nunca los daré por muertos, tribute to Juan Gelman. Directed by Enric Palomar. Sala Barts (Barcelona).
- 02/12/2013: Geografia Espriu, Big Ensemble Taller de Músics. Directed by Enric Palomar. Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona).
- 12/01/2014: Rosalía represented Desigual at the brand’s fashion show. Teatre Principal (Barcelona).
- 24/05/2014: Rumba Surreal, tribute to Maruja Garrido. Musical direction by Chicuelo and Peret Reyes; artistic direction by Luis Troquel. Ciutat Flamenco Festival, Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona).
- 04/06/2014: Presentation of Or Verd, a CD by poet Valentí Gómez Oliver. Ateneu Barcelonès (Barcelona).
- 16/01/2015: Chicuelo i Rosalía, featuring music from the film Blancanieves. Hannover (Germany).
- 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24/05/2015: Flamenkids educational concerts. Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona).
- 03/12/2015: Chicuelo i Rosalía, featuring music from the film Blancanieves. Hamburg (Germany).
- 07, 08, 09, 10, 11 and 12/04/2016: Flamenkids educational concerts. Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona).
- 16/04/2016: Flamenkids educational concerts. El Morell (Tarragona).
- 28, 29 and 30/04/2016: Chicuelo i Rosalía, featuring music from the film Blancanieves. Papenburg, Haßbergen and Gifhorn (Germany).
