Ecuador on Music Theory Print

Ana Villamil Icaza

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Ana Villamil Icaza was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador (January 19, 1852) and died in Guayaquil, Ecuador (October 23, 1916). She was a composer, artist and a teacher of piano and singing. Biography Ana was born to her father, Francisco Villamil y Garaicoa, and mother, Isabel María Icaiza y Paredes.Her father was the son of José de Villamil, an Ecuadorian Independence leader. Her mother Isabel was the daughter of Francisco de Paula Icaza and Isabel Paredes y Olmedo; niece of the poet Magdalena, and sister of José Joaquin de Olmedo. Ana worked as music teacher at municipal schools in her hometown throughout her life. She lived in Guayaquil at “10 de Agosto and Chimborazo,” which is now considered to be a historic site. She lived there until her death on October 23, 1916. Projects Inspired by José Joaquin de Olmedo, she composed the music to “The hymn of Guayaquil,” which was later recognized as The Guayaquil anthem. References

Arturo Rodas

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Arturo Rodas (born 3 March 1954, in Quito) is an Ecuadorian-born French-citizen composer. Biography Rodas studied at the National Conservatory in Quito, took private composition lessons with Gerardo Guevara, and also graduated in Law at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. Between 1978 and 1980 he was assistant to the French composer José Berghmans in Quito and Paris. He studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris from 1979-84. There he graduated in counterpoint (Ginette Keller’s class) and composition with Yoshihisa Taira as his mentor. In 1983 he attended a composition course with Luciano Berio. He also studied electroacoustic music with Mesias Maiguashca (CERM in Metz) and with Phil Wachsmann in London. He has attended short courses at the IRCAM in Paris. While in París he also attended courses given in several institutions by Michèle Reverdy, Pierre Boulez, Gerard Grisey, Guy Reibel and Iannis Xenakis. He returned to Ecuador in 1984 where some of his orchestral works were performed by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alvaro Manzano. In Ecuador he became one of the three “notable composers of the following generations”. The Banco Central del Ecuador issued a two

Cristobal Pazmino

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Cristobal Pazmino is an Ecuadorian guitarist and composer, recognized as one of the top guitarists in his country. Early life Pazmino was born in Riobamba, Ecuador, in 1957. His brother taught him to play guitar by ear. Both brothers were recognized for their musical talent. They often performed in their school and as part of a musical group. He learned electric guitar, bass guitar, ‘night guitar’ (known elsewhere as the classical guitar) all without sight reading. In 1976 he moved in Paris where he decided to study classical guitar in earnest, first at the Schola Cantorum in Paris for 3 years, then at the Conservatoire National de Musique de St Maur de Fossés, Val de Marne (CNRM) for 5 years where he was awarded the Gold medal (Médaille d’Or) in 1986. Career During his time in France, his guitar was how we stayed connected with his homeland. His music first aired in 1976 in France and later across the globe. He has performed in 32 countries and plays mainly Ecuadorian and Latin American music. Pazmino is the inspiration, founder, and artistic director of the International Festival of Guitar in Vendôme, one of the highlights of the French guitar music calendar. As a classical guita

Diego Luzuriaga

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Diego Luzuriaga (born 1955, in Loja) is an Ecuadorian composer of classical music. He was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Music Composition in 1993. Luzuriaga composed Manuela y Bolívar, the first Ecuadorian opera, which relates the love and death of Manuela Sáenz and Simón Bolívar. It premiered in November 2006 at the Sucre National Theater (Teatro Nacional Sucre). He was awarded the Eugenio Espejo National Prize in 2006. This prize is the highest recognition given to an Ecuadorian artist and it is awarded biannually by the president of Ecuador. Andean folk and Latin American music are influences in Luzuriaga’s work. His “Responsorio” has been performed by several major American symphony orchestras as part of “Caminos del Inka”, a program championed by conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Education Luzuriaga earned an architecture degree from the Central University of Ecuador in Quito, before pursuing an education in musical composition at the École Normale in Paris, the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and Columbia University. References External links * Diego Luzuriaga’s website * Review of Manuela y Bolívar

Mesías Maiguashca

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Mesías Maiguashca (born 24 December 1938) is an Ecuadorian composer and an advocate of Neue Musik (New Music), especially electroacoustic music. Biography Born in Quito, Maiguashca studied music at the Conservatorio Nacional de Quito, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York (1958–65), with Alberto Ginastera at the Instituto di Tella in Buenos Aires, and at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. In 1965–66 he returned to Quito to teach at the National Conservatory, but then moved back to Germany to attend the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, and the Fourth Cologne Courses for New Music in 1966–67 where he studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen. He is regarded as one of the central figures of the Cologne School, active since the mid-1970s. Maiguashca worked closely with Stockhausen in the Electronic Music Studio of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne from 1968 to 1972, and joined Stockhausen’s ensemble for performances at the German Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka. He also prepared the recording of the collective composition Ensemble, organized by Stockhausen for the Darmstadt Courses in 1967. In 1971 he became a founding member of the Oeldorf Group of

Sixto María Durán Cárdenas

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sixto María Durán Cárdenas (August 6, 1875 – January 13, 1947) was an Ecuadorian pianist, composer, and lawyer. He served as a judge, composed more than one hundred musical works, and was director of the National Conservatory of Music on three occasions. He also composed hymns for various institutions and military marches. Personal life and death Durán Cárdenas was born in Quito on August 6, 1875, the same day when the President Gabriel García Moreno was murdered. His parents were Domingo Durán, aide-de-camp of President Gabriel García Moreno, and Emperatriz Cárdenas, his first music teacher, a singer and notable harpist. After completing his elementary education and having lost his father, he entered the San Luis Minor Seminary in Quito. Julio Troncoso, director of the publication El año ecuatoriano, indicates that at the Seminary, Durán had a great music teacher in the priest Ditte, a Dutch Lazarist; however, another brief biography, unpublished and without a signature of responsibility, indicates that it was with the German priest Jausen, with whom he carried out his musical studies. At this time, the young artist had to teach mathematics privately to finance his studies. He ear

Wendy Vera

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Wendy Very Flores (born 5 October 1977) is an Ecuadorian composer, songwriter, record producer, and politician. She is most known for having formed the tecnocumbia group Chicas Dulces and for being a judge on . Currently, she is a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador. Biography Wendy Veras was born in Guayaquil on 5 October 1977. From childhood, she showed an interest in music and art, learning to play the piano. Though her family wanted Veras to study a different vocation with better potential for financial security, she joined tecnocumbia group Caña Dulce when she was 17. While in her third year of law school in 1999, Veras formed Las Chicas Dulces, with Lila Flores as its vocalist and Veras its manager. Veras contracted Hodgkin’s lymphoma, so she suspended her studies and sought chemotherapy in Solca, Romania. She stopped managing Las Dulces Chicas and though her health improved, the group dissolved. Citations