Composers



Jose Gonzalez Granero, Clarinetist and composer based in the Bay Area, recently 1st Prize Winner for the Villiers Quartet New Works Composition Competition (London), also he has been nominated twice for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for his piece ‘Gypsy’ and 'Adventures'. Mr. Gonzalez Granero holds the Principal Clarinet position for the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 2010. He graduated from Granada Royal Conservatory, USC Thorton School of Music and The Colburn School in Los Angeles under his mentor Yehuda Gilad. Mr. Gonzalez has won numerous competitions and awards, both as a clarinetist and composer, including Grand Prize for exceptional talent and musicianship in the Pasadena Instrumental Competition (2009), First Prize in the Burbank Philharmonic Concerto Competition (2009), Second Place in the Downey Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition (2009), Second Prize in the Pasadena Instrumental Competition (2008) and Second Prize ‘Ville de Comines-Warneton’ composition competition and semifinalist for Villiers Quartet New Works Composition Competition. His pieces has been published by Scomegna Edizioni Musicali ( Italy ) and Rivera Musica ( Spain ). Currently, Mr. Gonzalez Granero alternates his career as a clarinetist with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and as a composer, premiering pieces with EOS Ensemble, Granada Brass Quintet, Music in May Music Festival and Ensemble SF among others.
www.josegonzalezgranero.com

Valentino Miserachs Grau was born in Sant Marti Sesgueioles (Barcelona) in 1943 and during his youth took on Music Studies and Theological, Philosophic and Humanistic Studies. In 1963 he moved to Rome, in the Spanish College, to study Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where in 1967, after becoming priest, he earned the Licentiate of Sacred Theology. Concerning Music Studies he earned the Licentiate of Gregorian Chant and the Magistero of Sacred Composition at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, and, after attending the Conservatorio “A. Casella” in L’Aquila and the Conservatorio “Santa Cecilia” in Rome, graduated in Composition and in Organ and Organ Composition at the top of his class at the Conservatorio “N. Piccinni” of Bari.
He has been organist of the Cappella Giulia in St. Peter’s and since 1973 is Conductor of the Cappella Musicale Liberiana of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, for which he composed many works for the solemn liturgical service. He is Canon of the Patriarchal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Honorary Prelate of His Holiness and Protonotary Apostolic.
He taught Composition at the Conservatorio “E. R. Duni” of Matera and since 1995 to 2012 was Dean of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, where at the moment is Professor of Composition and Polyphonic Conduction.
Among his compositions there are the Oratorios Beata Virgo Maria, Ecclesiae Christi typus et mater, Stephanus, Isaia, Mil anys, Pau i Fructuós and Noces de Sang for solos, choir and orchestra; the symphonic-choral poems Nadal and Esclat berguedà; the Suite manresana and Pucciniana for great orchestra; many liturgical compositions in Latin and in vernacular languages… His compositions has been published by Cappella Liberiana and by the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, by Edizioni Carrara, Paoline and LDC di Turin. A part of this last compositions has been recorded on a CD. He is concert organist and choir and orchestra conductor, especially when he performs his own music.
Among the awards he had there are Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur of France, the Encomienda de Alfonso X el Sabio of Spain and the Creu de Sant Jordì of the Generalitat of Catalonia. He is Honorary Canon of the Cathedral of Tarragona and of Solsona. He is Pontifical Academic.
http://www.cappellamusicaleliberiana.com/il-maestro/

Nemesio Garcia Carril (Sobrado of the Monks, Corunna, 1943). While humanistic and philosophical studies done in Santiago de Compostela began musical studies at the Conservatory of Music in this city, which continues in Corunna, Madrid and Rome specializing in singing, conducting, composition and musicology, having as teachers Domenico Bartolucci Nino Rota, Franco Ferrara, Armando Renzi, Higinio Angles, among others. Because of their extensive training it operates in various fields, combining the composition, conducting and teaching. Between 1968 and 1980 he held the position of Kapellmeister of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, after winning opposition. He has also taught at the conservatories of Ponteareas and Santiago de Compostela, lecturer at the University of Santiago de Compostela and Granada, a tenured professor of IES "Rosalia de Castro" in Santiago, Instituto de Lisboa Spanish and member of the cultural mission the Embassy of Spain in Portugal, and professor of Father Suarez Institute of Granada. Among his compositions include numerous choral works, soundtracks for Spanish TV series The daughter of the sea and the joys and shadows, and the musical A nai. His works have been performed by the Spanish Radio Television Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Galicia, Opera Orchestra of Kishinev (Moldova), among others. 1973 1st Award for Best Music "1st International Festival of the Song of Pontevedra", 1977. Galician Critics Award 1984. Named "fillo distinguished" from his hometown in 1986 Award Anthem Sta. T. Jornet and Ibars .

Gustavo Díaz-Jerez studied composition with Giampaolo Bracali and Ludmila Ulehla at Manhattan School of Music. His compositional language may be defined as “algorithmic spectralism”, merging elements of the spectralist movement (Grisey, Murail, Radulescu, etc.), in which timbre plays a fundamental role, with processes derived from mathematical disciplines such as cellular automata, L-systems, fractals, genetic algorithms, number theory, spectrum analysis, additive synthesis, psychoacoustics, etc. Needless the say, the use of the computer is indispensable, usually producing results in the form of electronic music. However, his main interest is not in electroacoustics, but to “transcribe” these results using traditional instruments. This requires a very careful and elaborate process of quantization of melodic, rhythmic and timbre elements, so it can be adequately performed by human players. These transformations, however, leave intact the essence of the original process. Gustavo Díaz-Jerez’s works have been performed widely by soloists and ensembles and are published by Periferia Music and Fractal Music Press.  He is a researcher at the Universidad de Málaga in the project Melomics, which applies evolutionary computation to music composition.  He is also a founding member of the Computer Music Lab, a research team in algorithmic music.
www.gustavodiazjerez.com/?lang=en


Derek Bourgeois was born in Kingston on Thames in 1941.   He graduated from Cambridge University with a first class honours degree in music, and a subsequent Doctorate.   He spent two years at the Royal College of Music where he studied composition with Herbert Howells and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult. He has composed one hundred and four symphonies, sixteen concertos, several other extended orchestral works, seven major works for chorus and orchestra, two operas and a musical.   As well as a considerable quantity of chamber,   vocal and instrumental music, he has composed fourteen extended works for Brass Band and seven symphonies for Symphonic Wind Orchestra.   He has also written a considerable amount of music for television productions. From 1970 to 1984 he was a Lecturer in Music at Bristol University.   He was the conductor of the Sun Life Band from 1980 until 1983, and during the same period was Chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain, and a member of the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council. In September 1984 he gave up his university post to become the Musical Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.   In 1988 he founded the National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Great Britain which held its first course in the summer of 1989.   In 1990 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Bristol Philharmonic Orchestra. He left the National Youth Orchestra in August 1993 to become the Director of Music of St Paul's Girls' School in London.  He retired to Mallorca in July 2002. In Spring 2009 he moved back to Dorset in England and is now married to Norma, who was born in the Philippines, educated in Hawaii and worked as Administrator to the Vassar College Department of History for nearly forty years.