Jordi Ballester passes away
Jordi Ballester i Gibert, professor in the Department of Art and Musicology at the UAB, passed away on 23 July 2023. The University wishes to express its most heartfelt condolences to all those who knew him and and shares the profound sorrow of having lost such a valued member.
Professor Jordi Ballester i Gibert passed away on 23 July. He was one of the first faculty members to implement Musicology studies at the UAB as a four-year academic programme. He dedicated his research to musical iconography and organology, an area in which he became an international expert. He published several articles and book on this discipline ranging from the Middle Ages up until today.
He was elected president of the Catalan Musicology Society and was also appointed director of the UAB Department of Art and Musicology. He led the research project on musicial iconography in Catalonia, entitled "Iconografia Musical de Catalunya (IcMuC)", which consisted in an ample repertoire of visual resources with musical representations in Catalonia made available online and which helped to put this discipline in Catalonia among the top projects at international scale.
An active, approachable and sincere person, he was also director of the Conservatory of Terrassa from 1991 to 2001, when he then became a tenured lecturer at the UAB. At the Conservatory of Terrassa he fostered the creation of its orchestra and several instrumental groups. He also collaborated in dissemination programmes, such as the "El taller del lutier" programme aired on Catalunya Música. He became chair professor of the UAB in 2023.
The UAB wishes to express the sadness felt by his loss and extends its deepest condolences to all those who knew and loved him.