- Cristian Grases
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Cristian Grases (born December 22, 1973 in Caracas, Venezuela) is an internationally known conductor/composer. He received his Master's Degree with honors in Choral Conducting from the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela in 2001, where he studied with María Guinand and Alberto Grau and completed his DMA at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in 2009.
Contents
Biography
At the age of 11, Cristian started his musical studies in the music school "Juan José Landaeta”, where he studied music theory, harmony, counterpoint, history, and piano. His musical life started as a chorister and instrumentalist in 1989, and then as composer, assistant conductor and conductor of choral and instrumental ensembles until the present. He has studied composition, arranging, choral conducting and orchestra conducting with national and international music masters. After two “Bach-academie” workshops with Helmuth Rilling in Venezuela, Grases was invited by Rilling under a scholarship to study Choral and Orchestral Conducting at the “Sommerakademie” of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1998.
In 1995 he founded "Cíncopah", a 5 male vocal ensemble that is dedicated to the creation of new music based in vocal and jazz tendencies, working with them until 2002. From 1996 to 2002 he was part of the staff of the project "Pequeños Cantores de la Schola” as the conductor of the Second Level and Cantoría Juvenil. In the same year he received a very prestigious award for the arts in Venezuela: "Orden José Felix Ribas" for artistic merit. He also won the first and second prize in a choral arrangement competition "Estilo Caribeño"; He has been involved in many international concert tours with his former youth choir Cantoría Juvenil of the Schola Cantorum de Caracas (Venezuela), and the Iowa Youth Chorus (USA); earning international prestige and recognition. He has served as guest conductor in concerts and workshops nationally and internationally; has developed himself as the coordinator of the choral activities in the Youth Orchestra Foundation of Caracas under the direction of Jose Antonio Abreu; and has taught choral conducting, history and general music at the graduate and graduate programs in the Simon Bolivar University of Caracas, Central Washington University in Washington State, and University of Miami in Florida, USA. He was selected to be one of the 16 participants of the Swedish competition for young conductors “Eric Ericson Award” in October 2003. In 2004 he was selected by the IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music) as one of the 5-member committee for the Songbridge Project, together with renowned choral masters and chaired by the creator of the project: Erkki Pohjola (Finland) [1]
In the fall of 2009, Dr. Grases is serving as an Associate Professor at The California State University in Los Angeles [2], teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, and directing the university ensembles.
Grases just took his position at the University of Southern California where he conducts the Thornton Concert Choir 2010-2011. Much to the excitement of his students, he has agreed to continue teaching the Concert Choir the following year.
Conducting Highlights
Dr. Cristian Grases has had the opportunity to work with many great choral and orchestral conductors in his extensive musical career, among them: Helmuth Rilling, Alberto Grau Conductor/Composer/Founder of the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (Venezuela); Maria Guinand First Vicepresident for IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music) (Venezuela); Eduardo Marturet Conductor of the Miami Symphony Orchestra [3] (FL, USA); Erkki Pohjola fi:Erkki Pohjola Founder of the Tapiola Choir [4] (Finland); Kari Ala-Pöllänen [5] Conductor of the Tapiola Choir [6] (Finland); Susan Knight [7] Founder and Artistic Director for the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir [8](Canada); Emily Ellsworth [9] Artistic Director, Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus [10] (IL, USA); Joseph Giunta [11] Director of the Des Moines Symphony [12] (IA, USA); Gerardo Rabago Palafox Conductor of Coro de Cámara del CENART (Mexico); Tigram Hekekian [13] Director for the Armenian National Radio Chamber Choir (Armenia); Voicu Popescu Director for the Romanian Radio Children’s Choir (Rumania); Jo-Michael Scheibe Director of Choral Activities, University of Miami.
He has also participated as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and conducting pedagogue in numerous festivals, workshops, and events in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Some of them include:
- Songbridge Workshop as part of the América Cantat III Festival - April 2000 in Caracas, Venezuela.[14]
- Lecture on Children and Youth Choral Repertoire from composer Alberto Grau. The World of Children Choirs Festival - March 2001 in Vancouver, Canada.
- Workshop on Latin-American Music for Children and Youth choirs; as part of the North Meets South Festival - April 2002 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
- Songbridge Workshop as part of the ESPOO Choral Festival - June 2002 in Helsinki, Finland. [15]
- Songbridge Workshop as part of the Europa Cantat Festival - July 2006 in Mainz, Germany.[16]
- Guest clinician and conductor for the First International Choral Exchange and Conducting Workshop - July 2007 in Guangzhou, China.
- Europa Cantat Jr., Guest Conductor - July 2008 in Nevers, France. [17]
- World Symposium on Choral Music, Workshop Presenter - August 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Some of Dr. Grases's other career highlights include serving as Conductor and Artistic Director for "Pequeños Catores de la Schola Cantorum de Caracas" (Schola's Little Singers) and for "Cantoría Juvenil de la Schola Cantorum de Caracas" (Schola's Youth Choir) from 1996–2002, Assistant Conductor of the "Orfeón Universitario" for Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela from 1996–1998, Artistic Director for the Iowa Youth Chorus from 2003–2005, Conductor for the Women’s Chamber Ensemble of the University of Miami in 2008, and assistant conductor of the Miami Symphony Orchestra in 2008.
Awards and recognitions
- “José Felix Ribas” Award for merits in arts and culture - February 1998, Caracas, Venezuela.
- 1st prize in the arrangement contest for Caribbean Music “Caribe 6”, with the work Clarín (text and music: Tito Ciuffi; arrangement: Tito Ciuffi and Cristian Grases)- July 1998.
- 2nd prize in the arrangement contest for Caribbean Music “Caribe 6”, with the work Drume Negrita (text and music: Eliseo Grenet; arrangement: Cristian Grases)- July 1998.
- Selected to be one of the 16 participants of the “Eric Ericson Award”, a competition for young conductors - October 2003 in Sweeden.
- Two Silver Medals at the 3rd Choral Olympics - July 2004 in Bremen, Germany.
- Member of the artistic committee of Songbridge - 2004.[18]
- 1st prize of the Composition Competition at Yale University with the work Amanecer - April 2008 [19].
- Elected to the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Choral Music - 2008.
Teaching
One of the ways Dr. Grases is able to share his knowledge and passion for music is through teaching. He earned a professorship at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela teaching the History and Evolution of Vocal Music under María Guinand in 2001. More recently, in 2005, he served as the Director of Choral Activities in Central Washington University.
He currently teaches at the University of Southern California as director for the prestigious Thornton School of Music Concert Choir where he works with the renowned chair of the Department of Choral and Sacred Music, Jo-Michael Scheibe. The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music is one of the most prestigious music schools in the country. Grases' Concert Choir has risen up under his direction especially in regards to the alto section which contains some of the most brilliant musicians at the university.
Dr. Grases makes a point to have his singers perform a wide range of material from Bach and Britten to spirituals such as "Joyful, Joyful" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and many culturally diverse pieces, many of which originate from his Latin heritage. Currently his choir is working on a piece by Alberto Grau titled "Kasar Mie La Gaji" which uses outbursts from the singers as well as clapping to create a sort of desert effect. In the 2010 Fall semester, Grases introduced the Concert Choir to "Zum Gali", a fast-paced piece that he conducted to a level of such excitement that both audience and singers were put into a frenzied state creating an electrifying atmosphere at USC's Bovard concert hall. Grases is working on bringing the Concert Choir to a new level of professionalism and establishing it as one of the University's premier ensembles.
Compositions
- ¿A donde Irán? (for piano)
- Bourrée (for piano)
- Calipso Caraqueño (SSA)
- Chuao (SSAA)
- Coral Variado (SA; based in chorus #9 of Cantata BWV 21 of J. S. Bach)
- Crux Fidelis (motet for SA)
- El Estero (for clarinet)
- Hoy (for violin and piano)
- Invention for 2 voices (for piano)
- Invention for 3 voices (for piano)
- Kyrie (SSA)
- Lapitril (Invention for music stands and pencils)
- Misa in 4 movements (5 male voices)
- Oblivion (SSA)
- Passacaglia (SA and piano)
- Pata Pa´ca, in collaboration with Alberto Grau (3 treble choruses, piano and E. Bass)
- Silako Ueya (mixed choir and orchestra)
- Si Tuviera Una Medida Perfecta (for 5 pairs of hands)
- Visiones del Llano (SATB)
- 1. Fiesta
- 2. Amanecer
- Vitrum Nostrum (motet for TTB)
- Vive (for piano and flute)
- Vuelo (for piano)
Arrangements
- Abreme la Puerta (SSA)
- Cantemos en Coro (SSA)
- Canto Aragüeño (SATB)
- Canto de Pilón (SA)
- Clarín (5 male voices) 1st award in the arrangement contest Caribe 6
- El Clavel (SA)
- El Cucú (SA)
- Drume Negrita (5 male voices) 2nd award in the arrangement contest
- Caribe 6
- Goodbye (Adaptation for 5 male voices)
- Jingle Bells (SAB)
- Queenana (SSA and piano)
- Maria Pancha (SSA)
- Nacimiento (SA)
- Noche de Paz (SA)
- O Happy Day (SSA)
- La Paloma (SSA)
- Patatín, Patatán (SATB)
- Serenata Para la Tierra de Uno (SATB)
- Stabat Mater (SSA/SSAA; based in 3 canon themes of J. Haydn)
- Tonada (SATB)
Publishers
Dr. Grases's music is published primarily by Walton Music Publishing [20] and by Earthsongs Choral Music [21]
Recent Projects
Dr. Grases recently[when?] complied the most comprehensive catalog of Latin American Choral Music.[citation needed]
He is also the founder and artistic director of Amazonia Vocal Ensemble, based in Miami, which focuses on Latin American repertoire.
References
- http://cristiangrases.com/
- Cristian Grases CV [22]
External links
Categories:- People from Caracas
- Venezuelan composers
- University of Miami alumni
- California State University, Los Angeles faculty
- Thornton School of Music faculty
- 1973 births
- Living people
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