Igor Ijurra Fernández has been the Director of the Orfeón Pamplonés since October 2005.

He qualified as a teacher of Singing, Solfège, Music Theory, Transposition and Accompaniment at the Pablo Sarasate Higher Music Conservatory, before graduating from the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country (Musikene) in Choral Direction.

He has attended numerous Choral Direction courses, including the “European Academy for Young Choral Conductors” in Vitoria and Marktoberdorf (Germany), under such teachers as Laszlo Heltay, Johann Duyck, Juanjo Mena, Gary Graden, Philip Ledger, Peter Erdey, Javi Busto, Werner Fpaff and Volker Hempling, and has also received Orchestral Conducting training. He has formed part of a range of choirs specialising in early music, contemporary music and choral symphonic works.

Over his many years of training and professional experience, he has managed to combine conducting with work as a voice teacher and has sat on several juries for composition and choral competitions (Venezuela’s D’Canto Festival, the Ejea de los Caballeros Competition, the “La Antigua” Competition in Zumárraga, the Artika A cappella Contest, etc.)

He directed the Etxarri Aranatz Choir from 1992 to 2002, and also taught Singing at the local music school and directed its Youth Choir. He also fronted the Pamplona Deep Voice Choir from 2003 to 2007.

Igor Ijurra has introduced numerous works to the Orfeón’s repertoire, including Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve, Dvořák’s Mass in D major, Schubert’s Rosamunde, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Begräbnisgesang, Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht and Psalm 42, Puccini's La Bohème, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Prokofiev’s Ivan the Terrible and Gija Kantschelli’s Styx.

Unfailing in its commitment to its land of origin, Navarre, the Orfeón has premiered works by composers such as Lorenzo Ondarra and Miguel de Zulategui under Ijurra over recent years