Mariana Villanueva facts for kids

Mariana Villanueva (born Mexico City, 1964) is a Mexican music teacher and composer. A composer is someone who writes music.

About Mariana Villanueva

Mariana Villanueva started learning music at the National Conservatory in Mexico City. She studied with famous composers like Mario Lavista and Julio Estrada. Later, she continued her studies at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, where she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in music composition.

Since 1987, Mariana's music has been played in many places. Her works have been performed in Mexico and in cities across the United States, like New York and Pittsburgh. Her music has also been heard in Europe, including Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Mariana has received several important awards for her music. These include the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Award in 1999 and the MEXICO/USA Rockefeller Prize. She has also created music for groups like the Carnegie Mellon Trio and The Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble.

Besides writing music, Mariana has worked with theater and ballet. She composed music for plays at Carnegie Mellon University and for a ballet in Mexico called "El Gran Viaje."

To learn even more about music, Mariana earned a Ph.D. in Music History in 2004. Today, she teaches music composition at the Centro Morelense de las Artes in Cuernavaca, Mexico, helping new composers learn their craft.

Musical Works

Mariana Villanueva has written many different kinds of music. She has composed pieces for solo instruments, for musical theater, for small groups of instruments (called chamber ensembles), and for large symphony orchestras.

Here are some of her selected works:

• Cantar de un alma ausente (1986) – a piece for a solo clarinet.
• Antigone (1991) – music for singers (mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, chorus) and piano.
• Anabacoa (1992) – a piece for a full symphony orchestra.
• Lamentations (1993) – music for violin, cello, and piano.
• Ritual (1993) – another piece for orchestra.
• Santo Luzbel (1994) – for a bass singer and orchestra.
• Anamnesis (1996) – for clarinet and a string quartet (four string instruments).
• El jardín del sol (1997)
• Ishtar (1999) – for a soprano singer and a prepared piano (a piano with objects placed on or between its strings to change its sound).
• Made of clay and breath (2002) – for soprano, horn, viola, and harp.
• Medea (2009) – a piece for a solo viola.
• Taliesin (2003) – for violin and orchestra.

Her music has also been recorded and released on CDs. One example is the CD "Clarinete Solo: México Vol. 2," which features her work.

See also

In Spanish: Mariana Villanueva para niños