Samfaina de Colors, theatre performances for all ages

Story

Samfaina de Colors is the creative project led by the singer, instrumentalist, composer, and music educator Mirna Vilasís. She builds universes where music is the main language of expression of a free art open to all artistic disciplines. A cultural crossbreeding where music, poetry and visual art are intertwined. It was co-founded in 1988 with Xavi Múrcia.

It is a quality artistic project, which develops an intense work dedicated to the production and exhibition of newly created musical performances. Starting from beauty, it offers experiences that accompany and stimulate artistic sensitivity and creative awakening. Its own language, content and different layers of reading connect with audiences of all ages.

Mirna Vilasís works side by side with a team of artists, technicians, and collaborators, intertwining and influencing each other with the challenge of seeking excellence and total artistry in her creations.

Samfaina de Colors is passion and commitment to culture, education, and society, two weapons of inclusion and social transformation that bring happiness and freedom of thought. It vindicates the culture of the Mediterranean roots as a source of inspiration and places it within everyone’s reach without barriers or conditions, a way of contributing to the creation of new audiences for culture.

Samfaina de Colors is a benchmark in the performing arts for family audiences in Catalonia. It has created 24 performances in 35 years, has recorded 9 CDs, has performed 5,732 shows, and has received the unanimous applause of more than 2.5 million spectators.

The latest shows, Andròmines – Junk (2021) and No moon (2022), mark a turning point in the creations of Samfaina de Colors, as they are committed to greater artistic risk and the internationalisation of the company. As a result of this new vision, in 2022 the show De bracet – Hand in hand (2009) was reformulated to give it greater artistic and scenic richness. These are the shows that are currently touring.

For 2023, Samfaina de Colors begins a new line of work with the premiere of Music, lights & shadows, the workshop of the performance No moon, which enriches and innovates the artistic work of Samfaina de Colors to create new active audiences.

Samfaina de Colors, since its beginnings, has collaborated in different social initiatives bringing music, culture, and happiness to the most disadvantaged children at home and around the world. It has worked, among others, with friends of the Sahrawi people and with Clowns Without Borders.

In 2015, the Palau de la Música Catalana commissioned Samfaina de Colors to direct and perform live music for Trencadís de cançons – Song mosaic, a show co-produced by the Palau de la Música Catalana and Factoria Mascaró in 2001, which performs 20 times a year in the Concert Hall of this temple of music. (Photo by A. Bofill)

Mirna Vilasís

Singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, music educator and executive producer.

Training

She began to listen to music in her mother’s womb, to go to the Liceu (especially to listen to her godmother Mirna Lacambra) at the age of 2, to sing at 3, to play the piano at 4, to sing in the Orfeó de Sabadell at 5, to study classical music at 6, to dance in the Esbart de Sabadell at 7, to sing in the Choir of the Friends of the Opera of Sabadell at 13, to study singing at 14, to be a soloist in chamber groups at 16, to be a soloist in operas of the Friends of the Opera of Sabadell and in concerts with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Vallès at 17… Graduated in piano medium grade at 18 and in singing professional grade at 20.

From the age of 16 she combined her studies with teaching, teaching musical language, piano and singing. At the age of 20 she began to study music pedagogy, modern music, jazz, and traditional music.

Professional career

In September 1988, at the age of 18, he founded the group Samfaina de Colors with Xavi Múrcia, to disseminate and bring music and poetry to children. Samfaina de Colors is a benchmark in the performing arts for family audiences in Catalonia. It has created 24 shows in 35 years, has recorded 9 CDs, has performed 5,732 shows and has received the unanimous applause of more than 2.5 million spectators.

The latest shows, Andròmines – Junk (2021) and No moon (2022), mark a turning point in the creations of Samfaina de Colors, as they are committed to greater artistic risk and the internationalisation of the company.

In 2023, Samfaina de Colors begins a new phase led by Mirna Vilasís, who works side by side with a team of artists, technicians, and collaborators, intertwining and influencing each other with the challenge of seeking excellence and total artistry in their creations.

In 1994, he founded the group Tralla with Xavi Múrcia. A genuine proposal of singer-songwriter songs based on folk and influenced by jazz, ethnic, classical, and new music. With Tralla they performed nearly 500 concerts at the main festivals in the country and made several European tours. Tralla’s four albums were unanimously praised by the public and music critics and received important awards. In 2004, they decided to stop the group.

In 1995, together with Xavi Múrcia, he founded the group La Cobleta de la Selva, searching for the viscerality and passion of Catalan popular song. With La Cobleta de la Selva they released 1 album and performed more than 300 concerts on traditional music, early music, new music and world music circuits. In 2004, they decided to stop the group.

In 1998, together with Xavi Múrcia, he founded the record label Discos a mà, to release his records.

In 2009, she embarked on a solo artistic adventure and released her first album under her own name. Mirna‘s work is based on the voice and is wrapped in the amalgam of the rich instrumentation of the Mediterranean to sing the words of Catalan poets. In 2015, she published her second work, Espero meravelles – I expect wonders –, a musical show based on the work of the Catalan poet and friend Montserrat Abelló. Thirteen poems sung with the emotion, strength and beauty that have always defined Mirna Vilasís.

He has collaborated in albums and tours of Rosa Zaragoza, Maria Lafitte, Orquestra Simfònica de la Canya, Bitayna, Jordi Batista, Les Violines, Marcel Casellas, Xavi Múrcia…

He sings and plays instruments (piano, diatonic accordion, handpan, psaltery, guitarron, flutes, percussions…). She composes, arranges, and writes songs. He manages with his own management and record company Discos a mà, S.L.

Own discography

Convit a la festa – Invitation to the party (P.D.I., 1994) Samfaina de Colors
Cançons de ronda – Round songs (Actual Records, 1995) Tralla
Com l’olor de la terra molla – Like the smell of wet earth (Actual Records, 1997) Tralla
Cançons d’aquell temps – Songs of that time (Discos a mà, 1998) La cobleta de la Selva
Ralet, ralet (Salseta Discos, 2000-Discos a mà, 2001) Samfaina de Colors
Fruita del temps – Fruit of time (Discos a mà, 2001) Tralla
Nou pometes té el cançoner – Nine little apples have the songbook (Discos a mà, 2003) Samfaina de Colors
El fill de la Terra. El comte Arnau – The son of the Earth. Count Arnau (Discos a mà, 2003) Tralla
Mirna (World Village-Harmonia Mundi, 2009) Mirna
De bracet – Hand in hand (Discos a mà, 2009) Samfaina de Colors
Aigua – Water (Discos a mà, 2010) Mirna and Xavi Múrcia
Cançons de bressol – Lullabies (Edicions 62, 2011) Samfaina de Colors
Càpsules – Capsules (Discos a mà, 2012) Samfaina de Colors
Espero meravelles – I expect wonders (Discos a mà, 2015) Mirna
Els tres porquets es caguen de por – The three little pigs are scared shitless (Discos a mà, 2016) Samfaina de Colors
Els cistells de la Caputxeta – The Little Red Ridding Hood’s baskets (Discos a mà, 2018) Samfaina de Colors
Andròmines – Junk (Discos a mà, 2021) Samfaina de Colors
Sense lluna – No moon (Discos a mà, 2023) Samfaina de Colors