Al Ayre Español was founded in 1988 by Eduardo López Banzo, in an effort to challenge the pervading clichés that often surrounded the performance of Spanish baroque music at that time. The name of the ensemble was inspired by the title of a guitar fugue by the Aragonese composer Gaspar Sanz. The fact that Al Ayre Español has not settled for becoming a specialised early music ensemble, but chosen instead to create a musical philosophy „al ayre español“ (à la espagnole), has allowed the project to be flexible enough to adapt itself to different formats.
With 30 years of appearances in the top festivals and theaters in Europe, 14 years as a resident orchestra at the Auditorio de Zaragoza, 18 CD recordings, national and international awards (2004 Premio Nacional de Música, among others) and distinctions, as well as a relentless schedule of international performances and events for the coming seasons, there is no doubt that the group from Aragon is one of the most prominent ensembles in Spain.
Throughout those thirty years Al Ayre Español has performed at the most prestigious concert halls: Amsterdam‘s Concertgebouw, Vienna‘s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Düsseldorf‘s Tonhalle, Berlin‘s Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, the Théatre des Champs Elysées and the Cité de la Musique in Paris, Madrid‘s Teatro Real and Auditorio Nacional, Barcelona‘s Palau de la Musica Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu, Hamburg‘s Leiszhalle, Washington‘s Library of Congress, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Metz‘s Arsenal, Lisbon‘s Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Bilbao‘s Palacio Euskalduna, Rome‘s Teatro Olimpico, etc.
Al Ayre Español has also been invited to some of the most important festivals: Baden Baden Easter Festival, Bachfestspiele Leipzig, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Internationale Festtage Alter Musik Stuttgart, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Dresdner Musikfestpiele, Festival d‘Ambronay, Handel Festspiele Halle, Oslo Church Music Festival, Praga Spring Festival, Monteverdi Festival (Cremona), Festival en el Camino de Santiago, Festival de Santander, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, Hong Kong Arts Festival, etc.
Al Ayre Español’s recordings have been produced by labels such as Almaviva, Fidelio, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Harmonia Mundi France, Naïve-Ambroisie and Challenge Records.
Al Ayre Español is sponsored by Industrias Químicas del Ebro and the Ministry of Culture of Spain, and maintains a residence agreement with the Auditorio de Zaragoza. The ensemble has been Zaragoza’s ambassador since 2011.

Guillermo began his cello studies at the age of three with teacher Arantza López, following the Suzuki method. He continued his education with María de Macedo and Miguel Jiménez, until he entered the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, where he studied for his Bachelor of Music degree, specializing in the cello, under the tuition of Angel Luis Quintana, Maite García and David Apellániz. He also attended advanced musical courses with Jaap ter Linden, Anner Bylsma and Pieter Wispelwey.

After his bachelor studies, he studied a Master of Music Degree in Orchestal Performance, in the Barenboim-Said Foundation in Sevilla, as well as the diploma of the Formation Supérieure au métier de l’orchestre classique et roman- tique in Saintes, under the tuition of Hillary Metzger and Christophe Coin. He broadened his studies in the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, special- izing in the Baroque cello, with Bruno Cocset, Emmanuel Balsa, Andrew Ack- erman and Emilio Moreno, with the highest possible grades. He also studied the Master of Music Degree in Musicology in the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

During his career he has played as principal cello in orchestras such as the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España, the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, the Nederlandse Orkest Ensemble Academie and the European Union Baroque Orchestra, where he has worked with masters such as Philippe Herreweghe, Mark Minkowski, Jordi Savall, Rachel Podger and Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He collaborates regularly with national and international ensembles such as Sphera Antiqva, Regina Ibérica, Ensemble Nereydas, Temperamento, Ímpetus, Os Músicos do Tejo and Vespres d’Arnadí. His activity as a soloist has taken him to play both solo recitals and orchestra concerts in various concert halls throughout Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. He is a founding member of the ensemble Academia de las Luces and member of ATRIUM ensemble, La Tempestad and Paperkite.

On the other hand, his work as a musicologist has resulted in two recent publications: the critical editions and study of the cello methods written in Spain at the end of the 18th century, by SEPTENARY editions, and the book La música en torno a los hermanos Duport in the catalogue of Editorial Arpegio in Sant Cugat (Spain).