What was your inspiration for this anthem?

I composed the anthem with the idea of making music that, when listened to, its notes would awaken hope in the spirit: to evoke that hope that the student has for wanting to change the world around him, trying to do everything possible to improve it. That was the spirit I had when I was studying at the Conservatory of Music. I think we have to instil hope in the students who, when they become future professionals, will need to be able to face the challenges of our time.

I also wanted the anthem to reflect the solemnity of the university in its harmonic structure. Thinking of its official acts, its awards and recognitions, moments of the utmost institutional solemnity. 

Finally, it had to be music that harboured greatness. The anthem is composed in the key of E major, the purest of keys, according to the Russian composer Scriabin. 

I think few things are bigger than friendship, and it is precisely at university where you can make friendships that last for a lifetime. So, it should be a music that inspires that greatness, something so characteristic of friendship. 

In short, hope, solemnity and greatness are what I have tried to project in this anthem, which I hope will be inspiring.

What was the process of creating this anthem like?

When I presented a model to the University Board of Trustees in July, I told them that fragments of this music had been in my head for years. I had kept the melody from my student days in a drawer, so it was a great opportunity to release it now by creating the anthem of UIC Barcelona. I believe that the musical message emanating from the score strongly appeals to the listener and, at the same time, shares the values of an institution such as this University. Over the past few months, the task of arranging and recording the piece for a symphony orchestra and choir has been a very exciting one for me personally.

What could you tell us about the recording process?

The recording was made in Barcelona, in the studio of Vasil Lambrinov, who is an excellent musician. There we recorded the strings, ten violins, four violas, four cellos and two double basses, and a sound library was used for the winds, percussion and choir. I think the result is really very good, and now listening to it makes me want one day to conduct it with 100% real choir and symphony orchestra sound. All in good time! 

How do you feel about presenting it now?

So far the anthem has been very well received, and naturally that makes me very happy. It is a great honour for me that this music that I have composed from the heart is connected to UIC Barcelona. I believe that music is a tool that helps us connect and interweave many moments in our lives that, without music, would not be the same. In the case of this anthem, from now on this music must make its own journey, and hopefully reach many hearts that make it their own and manage to inspire unforgettable moments.

How does music contribute to transforming society?

Music has a transformative power; you go to a concert, enter one way and leave renewed. It is transformative. Music in the end is vibrations and has a powerful effect on the human being. We need to exploit this ability to transform ourselves much more. We know that art is a fundamental part of our lives, but often art shouts at us and society does not listen. I think we have to elevate music, which is very necessary in a society that sometimes looks the other way: we saw it in the pandemic, when the arts saved so many moments. We have to keep insisting that it becomes more prominent in our lives. 

What role do you think the Humanities, Culture and Art play today, especially in young people, in an increasingly technical society?

Art has the power to stir our conscience. We play in a league where we need time to appreciate art, while technology offers us immediacy. Listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony can change your life, but it takes 34 minutes. Music needs time to appreciate, but it's exciting and when we connect with it, we can't live without it. I urge us all not to lose our enthusiasm for art and culture.

What does it mean for you to be part of UIC Barcelona as a member of the Advisory Board? 

It is an opportunity to share experiences and knowledge of different disciplines with other people, which enriches us all. Having an advisory board is invaluable. I think it is a wonderful vision on behalf of the University to have this board, where people from civil society can contribute and be a reflection and a transmitter of knowledge. It has been a privilege in recent months to be able to share different visions with these people, to join forces and to grow.

The UIC Barcelona University Advisory Board, of which Carlos Checa is a member, has around 90 members from civil society from different cultural, scientific and business spheres of society. All of them have extensive and recognised professional careers through which they collaborate, advising and helping to respond to the present and future challenges facing the education of new generations.

The CAU, chaired by Francesc Homs i Ferret, drives the transfer of knowledge from UIC Barcelona to society, explaining the differential value proposition that the university provides through its teaching and research activities. To this end, the members of the Board are organised into working committees according to their specific areas of expertise and professional activity. In this regard, the composer Carlos Checa is a member of the Humanities Commission. 

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors, rector Alfonso Méndiz thanked Checa for this ‘gift’, which will be played at all official academic ceremonies. “At UIC Barcelona we believe in the transformative power of art and culture. Carlos Checa represents these talented people that we nurture at the University, who become a true engine of development and change.” In fact, the University leads the Impars project, which promotes art in all its disciplines.