Sylvia Soublette facts for kids

Sylvia Soublette Asmussen (born February 5, 1924 – died January 29, 2020) was a talented musician from Chile. She was a composer, a singer, a choirmaster (someone who leads a choir), and a teacher. Sylvia won many important awards for her music. These included the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Gold Medal in 1964, and the Critics Award in 1997. She also received a music medal in 1998 and the Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit. This last award was given to her after she passed away.

Early Life and Musical Family

Sylvia Soublette was born in Viña del Mar, Chile. She grew up in a family that loved music. Her brother, Gastón Soublette, became a music expert. Her mother, Isabel Asmussen Urrutia, was a singer. Her father, Luis Soublette García-Vidaurre, often took them to concerts where choirs sang. Sylvia's grandmother, Rosa García Vidaurre, was also a composer. Sylvia started singing with her cousins when she was 12 years old.

In 1941, while she was a student, Sylvia started a choir for girls called the Coro Femenino Viña del Mar. Later, she created a choir for boys at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso. In 1945, she started a mixed choir (for both boys and girls) at the same university. The next year, she married Gabriel Valdés, who was studying law at the time. They had three children: Maximiano, Juan Gabriel, and María Gracia. They also adopted a fourth child named Enrique Bravo.

Sylvia studied music with different teachers. She learned from Alina Piderit and at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música. In 1951, she received a special scholarship from the French government. This allowed her to study at the Paris Conservatory with famous composers like Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. After she returned to Chile, she continued her studies with Juan Orrego Salas.

Sylvia's Career in Music

Sylvia Soublette taught music at universities in Valparaíso and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago. In 1960, she started a group called the Ancient Music Ensemble. She led this group until 1973. After a big change in the government of Chile, Sylvia and her husband moved away. They first went to the United States and then lived in Venezuela for two years.

In Venezuela, she met Jose Antonio Abrue. He had created a famous program for young musicians called the youth orchestra program of Venezuela. Sylvia then formed her own early music group in Venezuela, called Ars Musicae. When she returned to Chile, Sylvia created the San Francisco Musical Center in 1981. This center was for studying old colonial music. In 1991, she started a non-profit group called the Santiago Music Institute. Sylvia traveled a lot, leading different music groups on tours across Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

Sylvia once said that she felt most like an educator, or teacher. She explained that even though she was a composer, she felt her biggest role was helping others learn. Her musical works were recorded and sold by RCA Victor.

Musical Compositions

Sylvia Soublette wrote many different kinds of music.

Chamber Music

• Preludes (for violin and piano)
• Suite in Three Movements (for flute and piano)

Orchestra Music

• Prelude and Fugue

Piano Music

• Sonatina

Music for Theatre

• Alicia in the Country of Mirrors (music for a play inspired by Lewis Carroll's book)
• Le Sicilien (music for a play by Moliere)

Vocal Music

• Aquel Pastorcito (for four voices)
• “Balada” (with words by Gabriela Mistral)
• “Cancion de Cuna” (with words by Gabriela Mistral)
• Cancion Madre de Copacabana (for a soprano singer and three recorders)
• “Del Rosal Vengo” (with words by Gil Vicente)
• “Donde Estoy?” (for a soprano singer)
• Eva (a cantata, which is like a story told with music, with words by Carmen Valle)
• Hallazgo (for four voices)
• “Liuvia” (with words by Juana Ibarbourou)
• Mass (for solo singers, a choir, and an orchestra)
• Muy ma Clara que la Luna (for a soprano singer and four recorders)
• Stabat Mater Dolorosa
• Suite Pastoril (for a soprano singer, a tenor singer, flute, violin, and harp)
• Three Choruses for Children
• Three Fables (for mixed voices)
• “Unos Ojos Bellos” (with words by Josef Valdivielso)

See also

In Spanish: Sylvia Soublette para niños