Juan Pablo Contreras, Composer from Guadalajara
Juan Pablo Contreras (Composer)
Juan Pablo Contreras (born in 1987 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is one of the most noteworthy composers in Latin America. His compositions feature a fusion of elements from Mexican folklore with the avant-garde tendencies of contemporary classical music.
In 2012, he received the “Nicolas Flagello Award” for excellence in composition from the Manhattan School of Music, institution in which he earned his Master’s degree in composition. The complete catalogue of Contreras’ works includes music for orchestra, chamber ensembles and soloists. These works have been interpreted in the Royal College of Music of Stockholm, Florianka Hall of the Academy of Music of Krakow, Poland, the “Instituto Cultural Mexicano” in Paris, Roy O. Disney Music Hall in California, Americana Hall in Belgrade, Bolivar Hall in London, and the “Sala Manuel M. Ponce” of the “Palacio de Bellas Artes” in Mexico City. Worth noting among the ensembles which have interpreted his music are the Onix Ensemble, “Ensamble Tamayo”, Formalist Quartet, North/South Consonance, “SequenzaSUR” and the Inauthentica Ensemble. At this moment, Mr. Contreras is working on his second discographic production, “Silencio en Juárez”, which will be made available to the public near the end of 2013. He is based in New York, where he collaborates with some of the world’s most distinguished musical interpreters.
Contreras received his Bachelor’s Degree in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts and his Master’s en Composition from the Manhattan School of Music. His composition teachers have included the esteemed Nils Vigeland, Daniel Catán and Richard Danielpour.