Nuria Planas-Vilanova

Núria Planas-Vilanova (b. June 18, 1960) passed away on April 25, 2020 in Aldie, VA after bravely fighting cancer. She is survived by her children, Gabriel Black-Planas and Ainona Black-Planas, both of Vienna, VA, as well as her mother, Núria Vilanova Parés, and her siblings, Ferran, Enric, Francesc, Jordi, Eulalia and Albert, all of Barcelona, Spain. Due to current restrictions on large gatherings, a celebration of Núria’s life will be held at a later date.

Núria was a Registered Nurse and obtained a Masters in Nursing Administration at George Mason University and a nursing degree from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She worked as an RN for 12 years, but her first love was always music. She began learning music theory and piano at a young age and was a classically trained pianist, having studied at the Conservatori Municipal Superior de Musica de Barcelona. She also studied piano in Germany with Stanislav Rosenberg and, after moving back to the United States in 2013, continued her classical piano studies with renowned Russian pianist Nikita Fitenko. Núria competed in her first Washington International Piano Artists Competition in 2017, and performed at the Kennedy Center in August 2019 with the Washington Piano Festival International. She also taught piano to many students, both children and adults, and enjoyed sharing her love of music with them.

Núria traveled widely and loved to learn languages. After growing up in Barcelona, she traveled to places far and wide, including Vietnam, Yemen and Australia, as well as to many European countries and North America. In addition to her native Catalan, she spoke fluent English, Spanish, Italian and German (and some Portuguese) and enjoyed taking Russian lessons in recent years. She often attended Italian conversation meet-ups and made many close friends there. She was Qualified Interpreter certified by The Community Interpreter.

Núria married James Black in 1998 and moved from Barcelona to the Washington, D.C. area, where her children were born, before relocating to Frankfurt, Germany. She lived in Frankfurt for nine years before moving back to Vienna, VA, where she became a beloved member of the community. Núria was a fixture at James Madison High School football games, mainly to support her son, who was drum major of the JMHS Marching Band, and could be seen sporting silly hats as she roamed the bleachers selling raffle tickets to support the band.

She also frequently could be found at Caffé Amouri and other Vienna locales, where she often met friends and made many new ones. She was a naturally gifted athlete and grew to enjoy running (including competing in numerous road races) as an adult. She passed her athletic talents on to her daughter and enjoyed watching her play soccer, field hockey and other sports. Núria also loved the beach and sent many idyllic summers with her children in Barcelona and at the beaches along the Costa Brava.

Núria was a great friend, mother, teacher and member of the community and will be deeply missed by all who knew her.