Miguel Roig-Francolí Facts for Kids

Miguel Ángel Roig-Francolí, born in 1953, is a talented Spanish-American composer, music expert, and teacher. He is known for his amazing music and for teaching others about it.

One of his most famous pieces is Cinco piezas para orquesta (Five Pieces for Orchestra), which he wrote in 1980. This music won first prize in a big competition in Spain in 1981 and second prize at a UNESCO event in 1982. It is still played a lot in Spain today!

Later, many of his songs and musical pieces were inspired by spiritual ideas and old church melodies called Gregorian chant. In 2016, he won the American Prize for his band music called Perseus.

He is also an expert on old music from the Renaissance period, especially 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, Roig-Francolí is a special Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music.

Life and Career Journey
Awards and Honors
List of Compositions
See also

Life and Career Journey

Miguel A. Roig-Francolí was born in Ibiza, Spain, in 1953. He started learning composition in Madrid from 1976 to 1981 with Miguel Ángel Coria. He also earned a piano degree in Majorca in 1982.

Studying Music

He continued his studies in the United States, earning his Master of Music degree in Composition in 1985 at Indiana University. There, he studied with the Chilean composer Juan Orrego-Salas. He later received a special teaching degree from the Madrid Royal Conservatory in 1988. Two years later, he earned his PhD from Indiana University. His PhD research focused on music from the 1500s in Spain.

Teaching and Writing

After teaching at Ithaca College, Northern Illinois University, and Eastman School of Music, he became a Professor at the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in 2000. While he has written a lot about 16th-century Spanish music, he has also explored other topics, like music without a clear key (called atonal music) and the works of 20th-century composer György Ligeti.

He has written two important textbooks: Harmony in Context, first published in 2003, and Understanding Post-Tonal Music, published in 2006. Both books help students learn about different kinds of music.

Composing Music

Roig-Francolí began his career as a composer in the late 1970s. His first work, Espejismos (Mirages), was first performed at a festival in Barcelona in 1977.

His most famous work, Cinco Piezas para Orquesta, was asked for by Spanish National Radio and finished in 1980. It won the 1981 National Composition Competition of the Spanish Jeunesses Musicales. It was first played by the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra in Madrid in 1982. Later, it won second prize at a UNESCO event in Paris that same year.

This piece was very new for Spanish music, bringing in a postmodern style. Many famous orchestras in Spain have performed it, including the Orquesta Nacional de España and the Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona. The music has even been used for two ballets: La Espera in 1987 and Five Elements in 2010.

After 1987, he focused more on his academic research and teaching. However, he started composing again in 2003. He said this was his way of reacting to world events. The music he wrote during this time often has spiritual themes and uses melodies from old Gregorian chants. These works include choral pieces like Dona eis requiem (In memory of the innocent victims of war and terror) (2006) and Missa pro pace (2008).

One of his more recent works, Songs of the Infinite, was asked for by the Foundation for Iberian Music. It was first performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 24, 2010. A special concert just for his chamber music (music for a small group of instruments) was held at Carnegie Hall on November 17, 2013. Other recent works include Three Astral Poems for orchestra, a sonata for two guitars, and Sinfonía, “De profundis,” for orchestra.

Awards and Honors

Miguel Ángel Roig-Francolí has received many awards for his work:

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 Ángel Roig-Francolí's musical compositions:

Espejismos (10'): For flute, oboe, clarinet, vibraphone, percussion, piano, harpsichord, violin, viola, cello, tape (1977)
Suite Apócrifa (12'): For piano (1978)
Quasi Variazioni (9'): For flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, bass, piano, 4 female voices (1979)
Concierto en Do (10'40”): For double quintet and piano (1979)
Rondó, op. 5 (12'): For orchestra and chorus (1980)
Cinco Piezas para Orquestra (17”): For orchestra (1980)
Conductus (12'30”): For orchestra (1981)
Playtime, for Three Young Violinists (3'): For three violins (1982)
Cantata on Dante's Vita Nuova (30'): For Baritone, chorus, orchestra (1983)
Partita for Eight Instruments (14'): For flute, oboe, clarinet, marimba, violin, viola, cello, bass (1983)
Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (12'): For cello and piano (1984)
Tres Cantigas d'Amigo (9'): For Soprano, percussion quintet (1984)
Concerto Grosso (14'): For orchestra (1984)
Diferencias y Fugas (12'): For String quartet (1987)
Easter Toccata (5'40"): For organ (2004)
Dona eis requiem (In memory of the innocent victims of war and terror) (11'): For chamber orchestra and chamber chorus (2005)
Antiphon and Psalms for the Victims of Genocide (17'): For chamber orchestra and optional chamber chorus (2005)
Canticles for a Sacred Earth (16'50"): For double quintet and two percussionists (2006)
Canticles for a Sacred Earth (18'20"): For orchestra (2006–07)
Missa pro pace (23'): For mixed chorus and strings (2007)
Improvisations for Jennifer, nos. 1, 2, and 3: For violin solo (2007)
Himne a Santa Agnès: For chorus and piano (2008)
Five Gothic Miniatures (10'): For chorus a cappella (2009)
Songs of the Infinite (18'30"): For violin and piano (2010)
Songs of the Infinite (18'30"): For violin and orchestra (2010)
Missa pro pace (23'): For mixed chorus and organ (2010)
Orion (12') (Three Astral Poems, no. 1): For orchestra (2011)
Songs of Light and Darkness (16'): For piano trio (2011)
Cinco canciones con los ojos cerrados (on poems by Antonio Colinas) (12'): For soprano and piano (2011)
Desconhort (on a poem by Ramon Llull) (7'): For tenor and string quartet (2012)
Andromeda (12') (Three Astral Poems, no. 2): For orchestra (2012)
Perseus (11') (Three Astral Poems, no. 3): For orchestra (2014)
Three Astral Poems (I. Orion, II. Andromeda, III. Perseus) (35'): For orchestra (2011-2014)
Un piccolo concerto grosso (3'): For three solo violins and youth string ensemble (2014)
Chaconne: Of Loss and Hope (5'): For string orchestra (2014)
Perseus (11'): For symphonic band (2014)
Six Preludes after Chopin (6' 30"): For piano (2015)
Songs of Light and Darkness (16'): For chamber orchestra (2015)
The YoYo-Ono Duets (14'15"): For two cellos (2015)
The YoYo-Ono Duets (10'45"): For two bassoons (2015)
The Star Spangled Banner: Arrangement for 50 cellos (2015)
Un piccolo concerto grosso (11'): For three solo violins and string orchestra (2015)
Sonata, for two guitars (16'): For two guitars (2015)
Kyrie for Humanity (11'30"): For 8-voice chorus and saxophone octet (2015)
Orion (12'): For symphonic band (2015)
Two Astral Poems (Orion and Perseus) (23'): For symphonic band (2015)
A Tale of Madness (3'12"): For chamber wind ensemble (13 instruments) (2016)
Sinfonía, "De profundis" (31'): For orchestra (2016)
O Canada (2' 40"): For cello choir (2016)
A Tale of Madness (Folía) (4' 50"): For symphonic band (2017)

Miguel Roig-Francolí facts for kids

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