Helena Otero, Débora Ñancupil, Carla Obach and Laura Allès are the members of Quartet Vela. The quartet was formed in 2012 in the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona, where they studied. After continuing their studies in other European countries (Netherlands, Germany, France and Denmark), in 2016 they moved to Aarhus (Denmark). There, they combined their performances as a professional group with the completion of masters and postgraduates in the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus.
In Vistes al mar (Gazing at the sea), their first album, Quartet Vela invites us to traverse an ocean that they have not crossed thus far, the Atlantic, through eight works that an ensemble like theirs has rarely or never recorded. This journey, warm and encompassing, shows us how two territories so intimately linked by their respective histories sound, such as the Catalan-speaking lands and Chile - both kissed by the sea in land and culture. What music identifies them? How do the popular melodies of these cultures sound? What is composed and being composed at this moment in time? This album demonstrates the insurmountable versatility that a saxophone quartet can exhibit and it is dedicated to all the people who find their hearts drawn towards more than one land.