Jacqueline Nova facts for kids

Jacqueline Nova Sondag (1935–1975) was a talented Colombian musician, writer, and composer. She is often seen as the person who started electro-acoustic music in Colombia. This type of music uses electronic sounds and instruments.

Life Story

Jacqueline Nova Sondag was born on January 6, 1935, in Ghent, Belgium. Her father was visiting Belgium from Bucaramanga, Colombia, to study engineering. There, he met Jacqueline's mother. After her father finished his studies, Nova's family moved back to Bucaramanga, where she grew up. In 1955, she moved to Bogotá.

In Colombia during the 20th century, it was common for girls from well-off families to learn piano, guitar, or singing. This was seen as a way for them to become "respectable ladies." Jacqueline started learning piano when she was seven years old.

In 1958, she was accepted into the National Conservatory of Music at the National University to study piano. She performed at the Conservatory as a soloist (playing by herself) and as an accompanist (playing along with others). She studied with famous teachers like Fabio González Zuleta and Blas Emilio Atehortua for modern music. In 1967, she made history by becoming the first woman composer to earn a Master's degree from the conservatory.

After that, she received a scholarship from the Instituto Torcuato Di Tella to study composition further in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, she learned from important composers such as Luigi Nono, Alberto Ginastera, Gerardo Gandini, and others.

Sadly, Jacqueline Nova died on June 13, 1975, in Bogotá, from bone cancer.

Her Amazing Work

After her studies, Jacqueline Nova became very interested in trying new things with music, especially using unaccompanied tape recordings. She loved working with other art forms like visual arts, theater, and movies. This led her to create music scores that included many experimental and graphic elements. During this time, she composed her first electroacoustic piece, called Opposition-Fusion (1968).

Nova's music was played by many famous groups, including the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. Her works were performed in many countries around the world, such as Venezuela, Panama, Spain, Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, and Austria.

Jacqueline Nova shared her work through various ways, including radio, books, films, talks, and concerts. In 1970, she gave a lecture and concert about electronic music at the Instituto Colombo-Alemán. She also spoke at the V Music Festival in Medellín. She wrote articles like "The Wonderful World of Machinery" for Bogota Nova No. 4 magazine in 1966, and "An Aberrant Phenomenon" for El Espectador newspaper in 1969.

Between 1969 and 1970, Nova directed a radio show called Asimetrías on Radiodifusora Nacional. This show had 22 episodes that featured new music and discussions about it. In 1970, she started the New Music Group to perform pieces by living composers, especially those from Latin America. However, due to her health, the group could only perform a few times.

Awards and Honors

• Festival de Música de Caracas Award for Chamber Orchestra 1966 for 12 Mobile
• Third prize in the Composition of the Colombian Institute of Culture 1977 for "Pitecanthropus" for symphony orchestra, voices and electronic sounds
• Posthumous recognition from the Colombian Institute of Culture (This means she was honored after her death)

Her Compositions

Jacqueline Nova wrote music for many different types of groups and projects. She composed for full orchestras, smaller chamber groups, and solo instruments. She also created music for popular theater plays and film soundtracks, including the movie Machu Picchu and Francisco Norden's film The Guerrilla Priest Camilo. She even composed for Son et lumière projects, which are shows that use light and sound.

Here are some of her selected works:

• Fantasy for piano
• Little Suite for string quartet
• Transitions for piano (1964-1965)
• Asymmetries for flute, cymbals, and tam-tams
• Opposition fusion for tape (1968)
• Echos I for piano and electronic sounds
• 12 Mobile for symphony orchestra (1965)
• Metamorphosis III' for symphony orchestra (1965)
• Music for Macbeth chamber group
• Julius Caesar for theater
• Hiroshima, an oratorio (a large musical work for orchestra and voices), with words by Dora Castellanos, for symphony orchestra, countertenor, contralto, 16 female voices, choir, and tape
• Omaggio a Catullus for speaking voices, piano, harmonium, percussion, and electronic sounds
• HK 70
• Creation of the earth

Performances and Recent Presentations

In 2019, the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston had an exhibition (a special show) about Nova's 1972 work Creación de la Tierra.

See also

In Spanish: Jacqueline Nova para niños