Miguel Roig-Francolí facts for kids

Miguel Ángel Roig-Francolí (born in 1953) is a Spanish-American composer, music expert, and teacher. His piece Cinco piezas para orquesta (Five Pieces for Orchestra), created in 1980, won first prize in a Spanish competition in 1981. It also won second prize at a big international music event in 1982. This music is still played a lot in Spain.

Later, his music often had spiritual themes. He based these pieces on old religious texts and the tunes of Gregorian chant. In 2016, he won an important award called the American Prize for his music for a symphonic band, named Perseus. Miguel Roig-Francolí is also an expert on old Renaissance music composers like Tomás de Santa María, Antonio de Cabezón, and Tomás Luis de Victoria. He has written many articles and two textbooks about music. Today, he is a respected professor of music at the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music.

Life and Music Journey

Miguel A. Roig-Francolí was born in Ibiza, Spain, in 1953. He started studying music composition in Madrid from 1976 to 1981. He also earned a degree in piano in 1982. Later, he moved to the United States. He got his Master's degree in Composition in 1985 from Indiana University. There, he studied with the Chilean composer Juan Orrego-Salas.

He continued his studies, earning another advanced degree in composition in Madrid in 1988. Two years later, he received his PhD from Indiana University. His PhD work focused on old Spanish instrumental music from the 1500s. After teaching at several universities, he became a professor at the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in 2000. While he mostly writes about 16th-century Spanish music, he has also explored modern music. He has written two textbooks, Harmony in Context (2003) and Understanding Post-Tonal Music (2006).

Early Compositions

Roig-Francolí began his career as a composer in the late 1970s. His first work, Espejismos (Mirages), was performed for the first time in 1977. His most famous piece, Cinco Piezas para Orquesta, was asked for by Spanish National Radio and finished in 1980.

This piece won first prize in a national competition in 1981. It was first played by the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra in Madrid in 1982. It then won second prize at a big international music event in Paris. Music experts say this work was groundbreaking for bringing a new, modern style of music to Spain. Many famous orchestras in Spain have performed it.

Music for Ballet and Spiritual Themes

Cinco Piezas para Orquesta has even been used for two ballets. One was called La Espera in 1987, and the other was Five Elements in 2010. After 1987, Roig-Francolí focused more on teaching and research. However, he started composing again in 2003. He said this was his way of reacting to world events, like the Iraq War.

His newer works often have spiritual themes. They are based on sacred texts and old Gregorian chant melodies. Examples include Dona eis requiem (for victims of war) and Missa pro pace (Mass for Peace). One of his recent works, Songs of the Infinite, was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2010. A special concert just for his chamber music (music for small groups) was also held at Carnegie Hall in 2013.

Other recent works include Three Astral Poems for orchestra, a Sonata for two guitars, and a Sinfonía, “De profundis” for orchestra.

Awards and Honors

• First prize, National Composition Competition of the Spanish Jeunesses Musicales (1981)
• Second prize, UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers (Paris, 1982)
• Dean's Dissertation Prize, Indiana University (1991)
• Dana Research Fellow Award, Ithaca College (1992)
• Medal of Honor, Superior Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands (2004)
• A. B. "Dolly" Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Cincinnati (2007)
• George Rieveschl, Jr. Award for Creative and/or Scholarly Work, University of Cincinnati (2009)
• Ramón Llull Prize, Government of the Balearic Islands (Spain, 2010)
• Distinguished Teaching Professor Award, University of Cincinnati (2013)
• Gold Medal of the Island of Ibiza, Spain (2014)
• American Prize in Composition (Band/Wind Ensemble Division), for Perseus, for symphonic band (2016)

List of Compositions

Here is a list of some of Miguel Roig-Francolí's musical works:

• Espejismos (1977): For flute, oboe, clarinet, vibraphone, percussion, piano, harpsichord, violin, viola, cello, and tape.
• Suite Apócrifa (1978): For piano.
• Quasi Variazioni (1979): For flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, and 4 female voices.
• Concierto en Do (1979): For double quintet and piano.
• Rondó, op. 5 (1980): For orchestra and chorus.
• Cinco Piezas para Orquestra (1980): For orchestra.
• Conductus (1981): For orchestra.
• Playtime, for Three Young Violinists (1982): For three violins.
• Cantata on Dante's Vita Nuova (1983): For Baritone, chorus, and orchestra.
• Partita for Eight Instruments (1983): For flute, oboe, clarinet, marimba, violin, viola, cello, and bass.
• Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (1984): For cello and piano.
• Tres Cantigas d'Amigo (1984): For Soprano and percussion quintet.
• Concerto Grosso (1984): For orchestra.
• Diferencias y Fugas (1987): For String quartet.
• Easter Toccata (2004): For organ.
• Dona eis requiem (In memory of the innocent victims of war and terror) (2005): For chamber orchestra and chamber chorus.
• Antiphon and Psalms for the Victims of Genocide (2005): For chamber orchestra and optional chamber chorus.
• Canticles for a Sacred Earth (2006): For double quintet and two percussionists.
• Canticles for a Sacred Earth (2006–07): For orchestra.
• Missa pro pace (2007): For mixed chorus and strings.
• Improvisations for Jennifer, nos. 1, 2, and 3 (2007): For violin solo.
• Himne a Santa Agnès (2008): For chorus and piano.
• Five Gothic Miniatures (2009): For chorus a cappella.
• Songs of the Infinite (2010): For violin and piano.
• Songs of the Infinite (2010): For violin and orchestra.
• Missa pro pace (2010): For mixed chorus and organ.
• Orion (2011) (Three Astral Poems, no. 1): For orchestra.
• Songs of Light and Darkness (2011): For piano trio.
• Cinco canciones con los ojos cerrados (on poems by Antonio Colinas) (2011): For soprano and piano.
• Desconhort (on a poem by Ramon Llull) (2012): For tenor and string quartet.
• Andromeda (2012) (Three Astral Poems, no. 2): For orchestra.
• Perseus (2014) (Three Astral Poems, no. 3): For orchestra.
• Three Astral Poems (I. Orion, II. Andromeda, III. Perseus) (2011-2014): For orchestra.
• Un piccolo concerto grosso (2014): For three solo violins and youth string ensemble.
• Chaconne: Of Loss and Hope (2014): For string orchestra.
• Perseus (2014): For symphonic band.
• Six Preludes after Chopin (2015): For piano.
• Songs of Light and Darkness (2015): For chamber orchestra.
• The YoYo-Ono Duets (2015): For two cellos.
• The YoYo-Ono Duets (2015): For two bassoons.
• The Star Spangled Banner (2015): Arrangement for 50 cellos.
• Un piccolo concerto grosso (2015): For three solo violins and string orchestra.
• Sonata, for two guitars (2015): For two guitars.
• Kyrie for Humanity (2015): For 8-voice chorus and saxophone octet.
• Orion (2015): For symphonic band.
• Two Astral Poems (Orion and Perseus) (2015): For symphonic band.
• A Tale of Madness (2016): For chamber wind ensemble (13 instruments).
• Sinfonía, "De profundis" (2016): For orchestra.
• O Canada (2016): For cello choir.
• A Tale of Madness (Folía) (2017): For symphonic band.

See also

In Spanish: Miguel Roig-Francolí para niños