José Carlos Palmero Casanova began his viola studies with Antonio Cortés in his hometown, Cádiz. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Madrid and a master’s from the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, where he was Wolfram Christ’s last graduate student before retirement. In addition, José Carlos received classes from such musicians as Raphael Sachs, Kim Kashkashian, Hartmut Rohde, and Nobuko Imai.
Serving as principal or co-principal viola, he has been a member of several youth orchestras, including the Youth Orchestra of Andalucia (OJA), the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE), and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
José Carlos worked with orchestras such as the Baden-Baden Philharmonie, the Orquesta Nacional de España, and the symphony orchestras of Sevilla and Madrid, and has taken part in projects with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and The English Concert, highlighting his interest in historical performance practice. A passionate chamber musician, José Carlos has been involved in a variety of ensembles. In 2020 he founded the Bahía de Cádiz Festival.
He studied composition with Francisco Toledo Pica.
In 2026, after his season with the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, he will join the viola section of Phion.
José Carlos plays a viola by Germain Trumpf.