On 26 May 2023, the Amics de l’Òpera de Lleida paid tribute to Josep Pons by presenting him with its Gold Pin, the association’s highest distinction. The ceremony took place at Lleida’s Auditori Municipal Enric Granados and recognised a professional career devoted to orchestral conducting, opera and the development of major long-term musical projects.
The Amics de l’Òpera de Lleida promotes opera through lectures, recitals, cultural activities and collaborations with institutions including the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Awarded periodically to distinguished figures associated with the operatic world, the Gold Pin is the organisation’s highest honour.
The distinction recognised Josep Pons’s contribution to symphonic and operatic music and his artistic leadership of institutions including the Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra, the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Spanish National Orchestra and the Gran Teatre del Liceu Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond major institutional awards, the Gold Pin carried the particular significance of being presented by an organisation closely connected to audiences and to the promotion of opera. The tribute highlighted the relationship between Josep Pons’s artistic career and the cultural associations whose work helps sustain and disseminate the operatic tradition.