Studied at the Madrid Highschool, at the Musikhochschule Zürich under Professor Thomas Indermühle (Konzert and Solistendiplom), l’Ecole Nationale de Musique du Pays de Monbéliard, and at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, Italy.
Recommended by Heinz Holliger, she participated several times in the Lucerne Academy Festival with Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
Member of Sinfonieorchester Basel in 2003-2004, currently she´s Solo Oboe of the Symphony Orchestra Navarra. She also played principal oboe with many opera and symphony orchestras in Belgium, France, Spain, Switzerland and Germany.
She was invited by Pierre Boulez to play as soloist (under his direction) in the opening concert of Agora Festival 2004, Centre Pompidou, Paris.
As a soloist, she has performed with several orchestras and was invited to the following festivals: Davos, Martinü, Luzern (Switzerland), Audio-Art (Poland), Impuls (Austria), Otoño de Madrid, Alicante (Spain), Instrumento Solo (Buenos Aires), Oboe Festival Buenos Aires 2012… She was oboe soloist in the last opera from José María Sánchez Verdú: Atlas, islas de Utopía, played in Hannover, Stuttgart, Salzburgo and Madrid.
She grounded Ensemble Laboratorium in 2004. As oboe player of this group, she played in many Festivals for contemporary music: Luzern, Davos, Tage für neue Musik – Tonhalle Zürich, Herrenhausen Festival – Hannover, Deutsche Radio in Berlin Philarmonie, Salzburg Bienale, CDMC – Reina Sofía in Madrid, Alicante Festival for contemporary music, Frankfurt Biennale, Santiago de Chile Festival for contemporary music, Festival Internacional de Santander, Gare du Nord – Basilea…
Since 2006 is member of Ensemble Phoenix in Basilea (Switzerland).
She played with Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Koan2 and Ensemble Cort-Circuit with conductors as Jonathan Nott, Peter Rundel, José Ramón Encinar and Jurjen Hempel.
Several composers wrotte for her: Jesús Torres, José María Sánchez Verdú, Eneko Vadillo, Juan José Eslava, Jürg Wittenbach, Mikel Chamizo, Michèle Rusconi, Germán Cancián…
Pilar Fontalba is teacher at Islas Baleares Highschool since 2004, and academic director at Jávea International Summercourse since 2000. She also leads the Palma Festival. She created in 2012 an Association to promote experimental music in Navarra: E7.2
She gave masterclasses in Kracaw and Warschau, was teacher at Musikschule Pratteln (Switzerland), coached the Contemporay Chambermusic Course from ACA Foundation (Mallorca) and Spanish Youth Orchester (JONDE), and gave some summercourses in Universidad de La Serena (Chile) for teachers and students. Also did conferences and recitals in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
She recorded a CD with music for oboe and electronics from Nicolas Verin in Radio France for INA, an oboe concert from Víctor Carbajo in Madrid for Green Tree, and Manuel Angulo oboe concert in Córdoba for Verso.
In 2003 Pilar Fontalba received the Hegar Preis (Zürich) for the premiere of Kinêsis, by Gérard Zinsstag.