The final audition of the Pablo Casals International Award for Young Cellists was held on 26th November 2018 in El Vendrell Municipal School of Music Auditorium. This year’s jury was made up of internationally renowned cellists such as Marc Coppey, Alban Gerhardt, Frans Helmerson and Arnau Tomàs, winner of the Award in 1991. Marta Casals, Pablo Casals’ widow, presided over the jury.
Johannes Gray (1997. Chicago, USA). He is a student at the Conservatoire de Paris (France) and will continue his training with Jérôme Pernoo in the academic year 2018-2019. He has received masterclasses from Frans Helmerson, Miklós Perényi, Jens Peter Maintz, David Geringas, Claudio Bohórquez, Philippe Müller, Jérôme Pernoo and Jean-Guihen Queyras. Since he was 10 years old, he has received numerous awards and has been taking part in international festivals since he was 12 years old. Among others, he has performed in Germany, Switzerland (Sumito Festival Zurich 2018, and Grands Maîtres et Jeunes Solistes de Genève 2014), Italy, France (Les Pianissimes Paris 2017, Lyon 2017), Spain (Encuentros de Santander 2018), China (SuperCello, Huangshan and Shanghai 2018), the Netherlands (PWS Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht 2015) and the United States (Recital in 2017). He has won numerous awards, the latest of which was a semi-finalist position at the Grand Prix Emmanuel Feuermann 2017, and participated in the Paulo International Cello Competition and the Enescu International Cello Competition in 2018.