Juan Manuel Marrero (Spain, 1970).
Composer and musicologist.
Doctor in Aesthetic, Science and Technology of arts (Paris 8 University).
Musical Composition Teacher and searcher at Marne-la-Vallée University (Arts department), France.
Searcher at CICM (Centre d'Informatique et Création Musicale, Paris 8 University, France).
Searcher at Litteformes/LISAA (Université de Marne-la-Vallée, France).
He began his musical studies at the « Conservatorio Superior de Música de Las Palmas », in 1980. As he was interested in expressive and creative possibilities given by science and technology to art, he mouved to Paris in 1995 where, at the Paris 8 University and the IRCAM (cursus de composition et d’informatique musicale), he specialized in Computer Assisted Composition and Electroacustic Composition.
His professional activity is shared between composition and musicology, composing music as well as teaching at the university and writing specialized articles. He has written a PhD Thesis under the direction of composer Horacio Vaggione : « Les rapports musique-technologie en tant qu'agents de transformation esthétique et sociale » (Paris 8 University, 2004).
In an aesthetic point of view, the sound, the rhythm, the gestures and all kind of microscopic mixtures between their attributes justify his work, where music became a particular universe of textures, colours, figures and forms.
He has been member of the computer science departement at the « Paris 8 » University, and also colaborator with the Univeristary Institute of Cybernetics Sciences and Technologies (Instituto Universitario de Ciencias y Tecnologías Cibernéticas) : Las Palmas University –Canary Islands-. He has been member of the educational and archives departement of the IMEB (International Institute of Electroacoustic Music, Bourges –France-). He has participated in different colloques and conferences with important personalities as Pierre Boulez (Festival de música de Canarias, 2001). He has published various articles on different aspects of musical creation at the XXth Century.
He has won theese prizes and mentions :
First Prize in the « Thailand International Composition Competition for Saxophone », category: saxophone quartet (Thaïlande, 2006) ;
First Prize in the «1st Annual International Composers Competition » of STUDIO for New Music (New York, USA, 2003) ;
Composition Prize from « Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País », Spain (2003) ;
First Prize in the « II Electroacoustic Music Contest of SGAE » (Spain, 2002) ;
« Citta’ di Udine 2000 Prize » in the category of analogical and digital electroacoustic music (Italy, 2000) ;
Third prize of composition of the « SGAE/CDMC Competition for young composers » (Spain, 2000) ;
Mention in the 29th International Competition of Electroacoustic Music « Synthèse » (France, 2002) ;
Mention in the « Metamorphose 2002 » Competition of Electroacoustic Music (Ohain, Belgique, 2002) ;
Special Mention from the jury in the « I Electroacoustic Music Contest of SGAE » (Spain, 2001).
His music has also been selected in the 2003 International Composition Competition SCRIME (France) ; in the « IV BIMESP : International Biennale of Electroacoustic Music of São Paulo, Brazil , 2002» ; in the 28th International Competition of Electroacoustic Music « Synthèse » (France, 2001) ; in the 22 th International Competition of Electroacoustic Composition « Luigi Russolo » (Italy, 2000) ; in the 26th International Competition of Electroacoustic Music of Bourges (France, 1999).
He has participated in some festivals as : CIMESP (International Conference of Electroacoustic Music of São Paulo), Brésil ; Festival SYNTHÈSE, Bourges, France ; Festival Punto de Encuentro, Madrid, Spain ; Festival CONTEMPORANEA, Udine,
Italy ; Festival Espaces Sonores, Ohain, Belgium ; Festival de Música de Canarias, Canary Islands, Spain ; Festival CONFLUENCIAS, Huelva, Spain ; Festival RESONANCES, Paris, France ; etc.
His works are played in places like : Instituto das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil ; Auditorium National de Madrid, Spain ; San Giorgio Theater, Udine, Italy ; Pérez Galdós Theater, Spain ; Alhambra Theater, Spain ; Auditorium Alfredo Kraus, Spain ; Auditorium de Tenerife, Spain ; Lincoln Center of New York, NY-USA, National Fine Arts Museum Theater (La Habana, Cuba) ; IRCAM-Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France ; Círculo de bellas artes, Madrid, etc.
His music is played in Spain, Belgium, France, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba and USA, by different ensembles and soloists : Ensemble Finale (Spain) ; Ensemble Futurs Musiques (France) ; Pascal Gallois, Dimitri Vassilakis, Frédérique Stochl (Ensemble Intercontemporain, France) ; Garth Knox (Ensemble Intercontemporain, France/Arditti String Quartet, England) ; Philharmonic Orchestra : The Residence of The Hague, Jaap Van Zweden : conductor (The Netherlands) ; Ensemble Xalapa (Mexico), Ensemble Studio, John Donald Hixson : Conductor (New York, USA) ; Sax-ensemble (España) ; etc.
He has received commissions and call for works from : Festival International Instrumenta (Oaxaca, Mexico), Densité 93 (Paris, France), Festival de Música de Canarias (Spain), IRCAM (Paris, France), BIMESP (São Paulo, Brazil), Studio for New Music (New York, USA), Primavera en La Havana (La Havana, Cuba), Next ensemble (Cincinnati, USA), University of Illinois (Urbana, Illinois, USA), and also from private entities or persons.
Publishers : Emec/Seemsa, Madrid, Spain.
Taukay Edizioni, Udine, Italy.
LDM Editions, Paris, France.