Finalists of the IV Fernando Rielo International Sacred Music Prize

FOUR FINALISTS NAMED FOR THE FERNANDO RIELO INTERNATIONAL SACRED MUSIC PRIZE

From the compositions of José Miguel Campos López (Valencia), Juan Durán (Vigo), Antonio Noguera Guinovart (Tarragona) and Laura Vega Santana (Las Palmas), one will be declared winner of the Fernando Rielo International Sacred Music Prize, following a public concert, at the Church of San Jerónimo el Real, in Madrid, on November 7.

The finalist compositions, selected from 20 entries originating from Argentina, Colombia, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Estonia, Holland and Peru, will be performed in a public concert by the Camerata del Arte Orchestra and the Koiné Ensemble Choir directed by maestro Ignacio Yepes. After the musical performance, the Jury, composed of musicans of national and international renown, having underscored the quality of the finalist works, will announce the winner of the IV Fernando Rielo International Sacred Music Prize.

The Prize, consisting of 5,000 euros, is open to composers from around the world (no age limit). As proposed in the rules, the text to be rendered musically is that of the Our Father (the Lord's Prayer) in a composition for choir and chamber music orchestra. The work must be original, unpublished and never publically performed, with a duration between 17 and 20 minutes.

For Fernando Rielo: "Sacred music is mystical feeling of the human spirit who expresses his filial communication with God, invoked in that most regal harmony that the communicative technique of musical language can produce. Good taste, synthesis of truth, goodness and beauty, takes the artist to confess, by means of musical talent or art, his mystical union with God. Sacred music is, for this reason, beyond all vernacular language, true universal language."

The Fernando Rielo International Sacred Music Prize promotes the composition of new works that respond to contemporary society's need for transcendent values.

Brief curriculum of the finalists (in alphabetical order):

José Miguel Campos López (Valencia, 1978):

In recent years he has won diverse prizes for choral composition such as the Prize Matilde Salvador (2009), and the Prize Ciudad de Motril (2010).

He is a piano professor, a master of harmony and melody. He has completed courses in Improvisation, Orchestral Direction, Choral Direction, and Composition for the Image. Licentiate in Audiovisual Communication and in Music History and Sciences from the University of La Rioja.

Juan Durán (Vigo – Pontevedra, 1960):

As composer he has received numerous accolades including Composition Prize of the Carlos III University of Madrid (2000), with his work Album for Orchestra; First Prize in the composition competition organized by the Galician Federation of Popular Bands with his symphonic work O soño de Breogán (2008); Critics Prize (2009) for his musical career that culminated with the premiere of his opera O arame.

His Cantiga Finisterrae, for multiple voices, is a cantata for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra, that signified a high point in his professional trajectory resulting from the critical and public acclaim achieved.

Antonio Noguera Guinovart (l'Atmetlla de Mar – Tarragona, 1963):

Among his distinguished awards he has received the Award in Ethnomusicology from the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona; First Prize of the First National Contest of Composition (Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya); Award in the III edition of the Symphonic Composition Competition of RTVE (2005); International Composition Prize for Organ "Cristóbal Halffter" in its XXVI edition; Second Prize in the VII International Pianistic Competition "Manuel Valcarcel" of the Foundation Marcelino Botín (2007); Honorary Mention in the II Composition Contest of Processional Marches "Ciudad de Santander"; Iberian-American Prize for Composition of the Courts of Cadiz (2009).

He is professor of composition in the Municipal Conservatory "Ataulfo Argenta" of Santander.

Laura Vega Santana (Vecindario - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1978):

President of PROMUSCAN, Association of Composers of Las Palmas, she is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Museo Canario and of the Federation of Iberian-American Associations of Composers (FAIC).

Specialist in piano and oboe, she has been the member of numerous bands and orchestras, among them: the Youth Orchestra of the Canaries and of the Symphonic Orchestra of Las Palmas.

Professor of harmony and counter-point in the Music Conservatory of the Canary Islands.

Her compositions have been premiered in various Spanish cities as well as European ones, such as Dresden and Amsterdam.