Our Group

The Rest Project, formed by Maria Florea, Lara Fernández and Daniel Claret, is an ensemble that talks about their concerns, mainly through music, but also using other elements such as text and movement. It is characterized by the shared creation of its concerts and by the limitless exploration in order to express what wants to be expressed.

The integration of the various disciplines by the three musicians gives the performers a different way of being on stage. The transmission of the artistic thought takes place through multiple channels, and the experience is lived as a whole unified journey. This integration, in addition, is transferred to the physical plane, and provides the group with a great adaptability to the spaces where it performs. Keeping its essence, for them, any house can be home.

The first proposal we created, entitled The Rest is Silence, was premiered in 2023 at the Festival ClásicArnedillo in La Rioja, directed by the composer Tomás Garrido. Since then, we have taken this concert to various venues and festivals in Spain and abroad, highlighting the Obertura Festival in Barcelona, the Classix Festival in Iasi (Romania), the Bachcelona festival or the concert season at the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca. The main work of this concert is Bach's Musical Offering, which is intertwined with texts recited by us and other music from the 20th and 21st centuries.

At the end of autumn this year 2025, we are premiering a new artistic proposal in the chamber season of L’Auditori de Barcelona. It is entitled New Beginnings and includes, in addition to music by Franz Schubert, William Byrd and Alfred Schnittke, a premiere work by Joan Magrané, co-commissioned by the Auditori itself and The Rest Project.

The musical and human connection between us was born when we coincided in a monographic Schubert programme – which we performed on 25 February in the concert hall of the Palau de la Música Catalana. A few months later, we decided to create The Rest Project, with a strong initial commitment to the format of rehearsal in residence, that is, holding meetings lasting several days, dedicated exclusively to us, in spaces designed especially for the occasion. In this way, over many days, the musical understanding grew in parallel with the personal one, exponentially enriching the creative process.

Violin
Born into a family of musicians and actresses, Maria began studying the violin at the age of four. She has studied at some of the most prestigious European schools, receiving classes from Gonçal Comellas, Zakhar Bron, György Pauk and Rainer Schimdt.
As a soloist, she has recently performed at Palau de la Música Catalana with OSV, with Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Alicante Symphony Orchestra “ADDA”.
She has also performed, with chamber ensembles, at Schubertíada in Vilabertran, Sociedad Filarmónica of Oviedo, Barcelona Obertura festival and PAAX festival in Mexico.
She regularly collaborates with Bayona Ensemble, with whom she recorded the CD: “Cuando el fuego abrasa”.
She is part of "The Rest Project" and Trio da Vinci (piano trio) since 2018.
Maria plays a violin by Eduard Sitjas Bonet (2024).
Viola
Born in Soria, she is the violist of the Cosmos Quartet and since 2018 has been a teacher of viola and chamber music at the Conservatory of Music of Aragon (CSMA).
She began her viola studies with teachers such as Jensen Horn Sense Lam and Elena Pochekina in Madrid and continued them at the CSMA with Avri Levitan, Quartet Quiroga and Kennedy Moretti. She completed his master's studies at the Hochschule fur Musik "Hanns-Eisler" in Berlin with Volker Sprenger, Eberhard Feltz and Oliver Wille (Kuss Quartet).
As a member of the quartet she has won first prizes in international competitions and her first CD "Influences" has received excellent reviews and they enjoy a successful concert career.
She plays a viola by David Bagué (2019).
Cello
Born in Barcelona, his references and people who have helped him evolve the most are Lluís Claret, Bernard Greenhouse and Julius Berger.
His professional activity is developed in different directions. In recent years he has carried out personal projects that have contributed deeply to his growth, such as the Integral works for cello and piano by L. van Beethoven; “The Faith”, for solo cello, combining texts and music by György Kurtág with Suites by Bach, and The Rest Project, which in addition to words, includes movement in its concerts.
He teaches cello at the Liceu Superior Conservatory of Music. He considers this activity an enormously enriching process.
At the same time, he feels very fortunate to be part of Inventions and Highlands, shows of the creative group Mal Pelo that have allowed him to expand the possibilities in the interpretation, perception and understanding of music and the scene.