Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann

Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann (1973) is a Peruvian composer, naturalized Brazilian, who currently resides in the United States.

Biography

Born in Lima, he began musical studies at the age of six, continuing to study the violin with Luis Fiestas and Veronique Daverio. In 1989, he and his family fled Peru for Brazil during the rise of the Maoist Shining Path.[1] In Brazil, he continued musical studies at Faculdade Santa Marcelina with Alberto Jaffe (a student of Max Rostal) and Ayrton Pinto (a former member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra). In 1998 he moved to the U.S.A. There he obtained a master's degree at Florida International University as a student of Fredrick Kaufman and, in 2004 he graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University as a student of John Harbison and Lukas Foss[2]

His music has been performed world-wide by ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Peruvian National Symphony, New England Philharmonic, Aspen Sinfonia,[3] Orquesta Uninorte (Paraguay), Kiev Camerata, Henderson Symphony, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Boston Musica Viva, Da Capo Chamber Players, Seattle Chamber Players, Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Talea Ensemble, JACK Quartet, among others.

His awards include a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Jacob Druckman Award from the Aspen Music Festival, Aaron Copland Award, Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, "Bolsa de Artes" by the Associacao Vitae (a fellowship of six months to a year, under which he composed his String Quartet no. 2). His compositions have been recognized at competitions such as ALEA III International Composition Competition (finalist), New England Philharmonic Call for Scores (winner).

He has been in residence at The MacDowell Colony, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and as guest composer in several festivals in the U.S. and abroad. He is a member of altaVoz a Latin American composers collective. From 2004 to 2010 he served as assistant professor of theory/composition at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he co-founded and co-directed N.E.O.N., Nevada Encounters of New Music and directed NEXTET, UNLV's new music ensemble. Since 2010, he teaches composition at Ithaca College.[4]

Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann's music began to draw inspiration from Peruvian themes once he relocated to Boston,[5] as demonstrated by his works Pensar Geométrico al Trasluz, based on César Vallejo, and "Siray" (meaning "to weave" in Quechua).[6] Other notable works include his three-movement solo violin piece La Ricerca della Spiritualità Trascendente, which takes inspiration from older models such as the flashy unaccompanied fiddle items of Bach and Bartok[7] and his 2012 orchestral triptych "Anemoi", which was premiered at the Musical Premieres of the Season festival in Kiev by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Works

Solo Instrumental

Chamber music

Large Ensemble - Chamber Orchestra

String Orchestra

Symphony Orchestra

Vocal

Choral

Mixed Ensemble

Awards

External links

References

  1. ↑ Valentino, Patrick (April 4, 2012). "Composer Jorge Grossmann Bridges Cultures". Ithaca Times. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Composer's Website". Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Aspen Music Festival and School". Concert Program. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Husnick, Kelsey (September 6, 2010). "Guggenheim Fellow Hired at the School of Music". The Ithacan. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  5. ↑ Gidal, Marc M. (2010). "Contemporary 'Latin American' Composers of Art Music in the United States: Cosmopolitans Navigating Multiculturalism and Universalism". Latin American Music Review, 31/1: 41–78. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Gidal, Marc M. (2007). Liner Notes to CD "Just in Time Now and then". Living Artists Recordings.
  7. ↑ Cleary, David. "Review of AltaVoz, Concierto VI". New Music Connoisseur. Retrieved 29 September 2012.