Certamen Internacional de Bandas de Musica

FELIX HAUSWIRTH

Felix Hauswirth earned his degree in conducting and theory at the Lucerne Conservatory of Music in Switzerland. In 1983, he was guest professor for one semester at the University of Michigan in Flint, USA. In 1985, he was appointed Professor of Conducting at the Basel Conservatory, Switzerland.

In 1983, Mr. Hauswirth founded the Swiss National Youth Wind Ensemble and conducted this ensemble until 1993. As guest conductor and with his own ensembles, he has performed in several countries in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and South America and in several places in the USA and Canada. He has conducted many recordings and broadcasts with different ensembles and has received acclaim from conductors and composers from Europe, the United States and Asia for his CDs.

As a clinician he is regularly invited all over the world. Since 1998 Mr. Hauswirth has been head of the wind band conducting course at the Bundes-Academy in Trossingen, Germany and from 2000 - 2009 he taught at the Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico (I.S.E.B.) in Trento, Italy.

From 1993 - 2000 Mr. Hauswirth was Artistic Director for the International Festival for Contemporary Music in Uster, Switzerland. He was President of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) from 1997 - 2001. Since 2008 he has been guest professor at the Instituto Piaget in Lisbon, Portugal and currently is the conductor of the Baden-Württemberg Youth Wind Ensemble, Germany and the Zug Wind Orchestra, Switzerland.

He is the author of several books, mainly on conducting and on wind ensemble literature.

In December 2009 in Chicago Felix Hauswirth received the "Midwest Clinic International Award" in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions and Dedication to Instrumental Music Education.

DARÍO SOTELO

Dario Sotelo is the Director of the Brazilian Wind Orchestra and teaches Orchestra Conducting at the Tautí Conservatory in São Paulo, Brazil.

He has degrees in Piano, Violin, Viola and Orchestra Conducting and has specialized in conducting wind orchestras and bands. He has a master's degree in Orchestra Conducting from City University, London. He has led the Paulista Symphony Orchestra, taught violin and viola at the Tautí Conservatory, conducted the Conservatory's orchestra and the Tatuí Chamber Orchestra.

He has conducted orchestras and bands in various places all over the world such as Hungary, Paraguay, Argentina, the USA, Spain, England and South Africa, and in Brazil in places such as Curitiba, São Paulo, Blumenau, Caxias do Sul, Belo Horizonte and the Campos de Jordão Festival. He runs the Pro Bandas training program and frequently travels all over São Paulo State in this role.

He has been a jury member for the most renowned band contests at an international level and is regularly invited to give lectures at various American universities. He coordinated the 1st and 2nd South-America Conference for Composers, Arrangers and Conductors of Symphonic Bands of Tatuí in 2002 and 2003, and the 1st Conference for Military Band Conductors of Tatuí in 2003. In 2007 he started the Conferences for Composers and Conductors for Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles project with the aim of stimulating and developing the national Brazilian repertoire for bands. In 2008 he was Secretary General of the 4th Iberian-American Conference for Composers, Conductors and Arrangers for Symphonic Bands in Tenerife, Spain.

He was a member of the WASBE Council from 2004 to 2007, when he became a member of the organization's Artistic Committee.

In 2009 he carried out a concert tour as guest conductor in seven countries. He participates in the Brasil Presente project, run by Brazil Federal Government's Ministry of External Affairs, with the Tatuí Wind Ensemble.

MARTÍN ELLERBY

Martin Ellerby is a composer of international standing, whose works have been performed, broadcast and recorded to critical acclaim across Europe, Asia and the USA. His catalogue comprises compositions spanning a diverse range of media, including orchestral, choral, concert band, brass band, ballet, concertos (11), instrumental and chamber, together with a substantial number of commercial orchestrations and arrangements. Ellerby’s works are published extensively and recorded on over 150 commercial CDs to date. Key performances include the BBC Promenade Concerts, Carnegie Hall (New York City), Leipzig Gewandhaus, Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre, Symphony Hall (Birmingham), Sydney Opera House and many major international festivals, including Edinburgh, Harrogate, Zurich and Kuhmo Chamber Music (Finland).

Martin combines a busy schedule as a professional composer with work in education, where he is currently Visiting Professor (with responsibility for curriculum design) at the Royal Air Force: Headquarters Music Services. He is also Artistic Director for Studio Music Company and Senior Producer for Polyphonic Recordings. He is currently Composer-in-Residence to the Band of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards.

In his previous post as Head of Composition and Contemporary Music at the London College of Music and Media, Martin was responsible for the co-ordination and development of a high profile department of over 50 composition students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He instigated and designed four specialist composition programmes at Master’s level while also preparing a range of detailed undergraduate syllabuses. Martin contributed to the artistic focus of the school by being pro-active in overseeing the inclusion of a substantial number of student works in concert programmes, hosting a range of Composers’ Festivals and organising frequent workshops and specialist composers’ concerts.

JOSÉ MARÍA CERVERA COLLADO

José Mª Cervera was born in Buñol, (Valencia) and is an adopted son of Alborache. He studied at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Valencia and with F. Ferrara at the Chigiana Musical Academy in Siena where he was awarded the Honours Prize. Between 1976 and1979 he was the Director of the Valencia Municipal Orchestra and the Musical Director of the Montepulciano Festival (Italy), and from 1985 to 1990 he was Generalmusikdirektor of the Karlsruhe opera house. In 1984 he directed the Spanish National Orchestra (ONE) at the Granada Festival.

He has directed orchestras such as the Wienner Philharmonikeer, the München Symphoniker, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the London Philharmonia, the Bayerishe Rundfunk Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, Den Haag Residentie Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Hilversum Radio, the National de France, the Vancouver Symphony, Québec Budapest Radio, the Sinfonica Nazionalle della RAI of Milan, the English Chamber Orchestra, Den Norshe Operas Orkester, the Tenerife Symphonic, the Gran Canaria Philharmonic, the ONE, the symphony orchestras of Madrid, RTVE, Galicia, Bilbao, the Principality of Asturias, that of the Liceu de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya theatre, the Portuguese Orchestra of the Comunidad de Madrid, the orchestras of Granada, Valencia, the Philharmonic orchestras of Malaga and Cordoba, the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and that of the Mariinski Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the National Philharmonic of Lithuania and that of Estonia, the NHK of Tokio, and the New Jersey Orchestra.

He has worked with soloists such as M. Maisky, B. Belkin, N. Yepes, J. Achúcarro, D. Bashkirov, Y. Bronfman, C. Zacharias, G. Saham, A. Wats, H. Schiff, K. Jalkowitz and M. Robles.

As an opera director he has conducted in the most important opera festivals and houses in the world. He has worked with singers of the stature of M. Caballé, J.Aragall, P. Domingo, J. Carreras, J. Pons, P. Cappuccilli, I. Contrubas, E. Gruberova, B. Hendricks, R. Kollo and A. Kraus.

BERNARDO ADAM FERRERO

Bernando Adam Ferrero was born in Algemesí (Valencia). He studied Piano, Composition and Orchestra Conducting in the Conservatories of Valencia, Madrid, Paris, Rome and the Accademia Chigiana de Siena (Italy) with maestros José María Cervera, Daniel de Nueda, Ernesto Francés, Amando Blanquer, Franco Ferrara, Nino Antonellini, Godfredo Petrassi, Luigi Dallapíccola, Olivier Messiaen and Betsy Jolas.

He has won the "Joaquín Rodrigo", "Manuel Palau", and "Premio del Instituto de Estudios Alicantinos" national awards for composition. He has also received the "Maestro Villa" of Madrid international award, the prize for Composition and Orchestra Conducting from the Fundación Española de la Vocación (Barcelona), the "Ausias March" prize (Valencia), the "Amics d'Or" award, and the "Mercedes Massí" prize for the best academic record. The Forum de Alta Dirección (Madrid) presented him with their "Master" prize in recognition of his professional career. In New York he was granted the Order of Merit for his contribution to the music world. In the Cuba International Music Festival he was awarded the "Golden Baton of the Gran Teatro of Havana". He won a Medal of Honor at the Chicago Midwest International Festival (USA), directing the soloist group "Mare Nostrum". In Manila, the Philippine government presented him with the Silver Shell award for his contribution to Spanish music in this country. He has won an EGREM America award for the recording of his composition Homenaje to Joaquín Sorolla. He is the holder of a "Sapienta" award from the Grupo de Estudios de Actualidad Valenciana. He was decorated by the Carabobo State Government (Venezuela) with the Order of the Battle of Carabobo, which he received in the Venezuelan city of Valencia.

As a guest director he conducts both national and foreign orchestras, choirs and bands and also gives lectures and writes articles for several magazines, mainly in Europe and America. He composes music for films and carries out research studies and various recordings. He published musical works are stored at the Spanish National Library in Madrid. In 2001 he directed the recording of National Anthems of the World, a compilation of 103 anthems performed by the Symphonic Band of the Spanish Marine Corps. The Town Hall of Algemesí, his hometown, awarded him the "Galardón 2002" and the Federation of Music Associations gave him the "Premio Euterpe 2003" for music composition. In 2006 he received the "Llama Rotaria" award from the Valencia Rotary Club.

He has published several books, including Las Bandas de Música en el Mundo, 1,000 Músicos Valencianos and La Educación por la Música. He is a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Rector of the Valencian Academy of Music and an Honorary Member of the Carlos III Foundation. He is a holder of the Medal of the Royal Order of San Hermenegildo, awarded by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I. He was granted an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Sydney (Australia) under the Royal Patronage of Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. He is also a Professor of History and Aesthetics at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

As head and guest director he has led the Orchestras of Valencia, Córdoba, the Madrid Symphony, the RTVE, the Murcia Symphony, the Spanish Lyrical Orchestra, the Lliria Music Association (as founding director), the Collegium Instrumentale, the Cascais Oeiras (Portugal), the Sofia Symphony (Bulgaria), the Mar del Plata, the Teatro Colón (Argentina), the National of Cuba, the Slovakian Symphony, the Virginia Symphony and Chorus (USA) and Spanish, European and American bands. Currently he directs in Madrid at the Real Camerata Española, and in Valencia he conducts the Chamber Orchestra and the group of soloists "Mare Nostrum".

His musical works have been performed in Spain, the USA, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Bolivia, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Australia.