José Fabra develops his professional career both in the symphonic and lyrical fields, conducting important formations such as the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Orquesta Sinfónica Ciudad de Oviedo, Orquesta de Córdoba, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Orquesta Sinfónica del Vallés or the Orquestra de València; as well as the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana, Orfeón Pamplonés or Orfeó Catalá. Internationally, he has conducted in France, Italy, Austria, Romania and Chile. From the very beginning, when he collaborated with Montserrat Caballé or Maurice André, the list of artists -in their different facets- with whom he has worked is innumerable -Calixto Bieito, Saioa Hernández, Pedro Iturralde, Ismael Jordi, Manuel Lanza, Mario Monreal, Emilio Sagi, Pablo Sáinz Villegas, Ana María Sánchez… – performing in the main concert halls of the country and in important international stages.
With a wide symphonic repertoire that spans from the baroque to the present time, he has also frequented the operatic catalogue. Le Nozze di Figaro, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’Amore, Carmen, Gianni Schichi, Rigoletto and La Bohéme are some of the titles conducted in important stages such as the Kursaal in San Sebastián, Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Palacio Valdés in Avilés or Teatro Reina Victoria in Madrid. He also participated actively in the production of titles such as Falstaff, Elektra, Mephistophele, La Damnation de Faust, Oedipo Rex and Das Rheingold, performed at the Palau de la Música in Valencia.
He is a good connoisseur of the Spanish lyrical genre, has not in vain conducted more than thirty titles, with which he has led several premieres and numerous appearances in the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, with works such as Gigantes y Cabezudos, La Viejecita, Bohemios, El Barbero de Sevilla, La del Soto del Parral, La Boda y el Baile de Luis Alonso, El Dúo de La Africana, La Corte de Faraón, El Barberillo de Lavapiés -with stage direction by Calixto Bieito-, as well as his performances at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo -within the framework of the Festival Lírico de Asturias– where he conducted, in addition to some of those already mentioned, La Leyenda del Beso, Don Manolito or La Calesera. Likewise, he frequents important stages in Spain such as the Teatro Cervantes in Málaga or Teatro Gayarre de Pamplona with titles such as La Tabernera del Puerto, La Revoltosa, La Verbena de la Paloma, El Caserío or Doña Francisquita. In December 2001 he was presented in Vienna with a new production of El Barberillo de Lavapiés, conducting 20 performances at the Kammeroper, received with great praise and, according to the Austrian press, «…the best that had been seen so far in the Spanish genre…». Other zarzuela titles brought by José Fabra to the international stage have been La Generala -Théâtre Châtelet de Paris, in production of the Teatro de la Zarzuela – and Pan y Toros -Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile- (both in 2008 and with stage direction by Emilio Sagi) being acclaimed by critics and audiences.
Throughout his career he has also devoted special attention to pedagogical activity, among other activities, collaborating with the Joven Orquesta Nacional of Spain, as a member of the teaching staff of the Opera Workshop of the Palau de la Música de València and creating the Orquestra Ciutat de Torrent, with the participation of the most qualified students and the most relevant professionals of the Valencian music scene.
On the other hand, he was principal conductor of the Banda Primitiva de Llíria, he collaborated with the Municipal Symphonic Bands of Madrid and Palma de Mallorca and, throughout his career, he has given numerous world premieres of composers such as Tomás Marco, Javier Darias and César Cano, among others. His performances have been recorded on numerous occasions by broadcasters such as TVE, A3TV, RNE and the Austrian ORF 2.
In the field of teaching, José Fabra is Professor of Music and Performing Arts -on leave of absence- in the specialty of Repertoire with Piano for Voice and currently Professor of Aural Education at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo de Valencia, where he trained as a conductor with professors Eduardo Cifre and Manuel Galduf. He received a grant from the Ministry of Culture and the AIE to continue his education at the Hochschule für Musik Wien, and also studied at internationally renowned centres such as Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Siena), Academie Internationale de Pontarlier (Besançon) o Scuola di Alto Perfezionamiento Musicale (Saluzzo), receiving advice from maestros such as Leopold Hager, Ferdinand Leitner, Yuri Temirkanov, Bertrand de Billy, Aldo Ceccato, Helmuth Rilling or Ros Marbá, among others.
As a researcher, he holds the Diploma of Advanced Studies from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, which leads him to participate in Congresses of Musicology held at the Universidad Autónoma de Murcia and the Universidad de Valencia, lecturing on the Spanish Lyric Genre. On the other hand, he usually collaborates in the writing of Notes to the Program for the seasonal concerts of the Palau de la Música de València.