Alba Quintanilla (born July 11, 1944) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n composer, harpist, harpsichordist, pianist, singer, conductor, and pedagogue.

Biography

Quintanilla was born in

Mérida, Mérida Mérida, officially known as ''Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida'', is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the main cities of the Venezuelan Andes. It was founded in 1558 by Captain Juan ...

, and had her first contact with music through her parents, especially her father,

n painter, sculpturist, and pedagogue Luis Felipe Quintanilla Ponce. At age 10 she matriculated at the ''Escuela Superior de Música José Ángel Lamas'', where she studied piano, harp, harpsichord, singing (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

), composition, and conduction; her instructors there included

Vicente Emilio Sojo Vicente Emilio Sojo (December 8, 1887 – August 11, 1974) was a Venezuelan musicologist, educator and composer, born in Guatire, Miranda (state), Miranda. Biography Vicente Emilio Sojo was born to a musical family. Most notable was the fact ...

, Raimundo Pereira, Juan Bautista Plaza, Gonzalo Castellanos Yumar, Evencio Castellanos, Cecilia de Majo, Evelia Taborda, Lidya Venturini, and Pablo Manelski. She continued her music studies at the Conservatory in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, during one of her sabbatical years (1970). There, she studied with conductor

Ryszard Dudek Ryszard () is the Polish equivalent of "Richard", and may refer to: *Ryszard Andrzejewski (born 1976), Polish rap musician, songwriter and producer *Ryszard Bakst (1926–1999), Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian ...

and composer Witold Rudzinski. From 1982 through 1984 Quintanilla attended the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, continuing her postgraduate studies in composition with Prof. Helmut Weindland. Quintanilla was the first woman to conduct the

Venezuela Symphony Orchestra The Venezuela Symphony Orchestra () is an orchestra in Venezuela, founded in 1930. They perform at the Ríos Reyna concert-hall in the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex. See also *Venezuelan music Several styles of the traditional music o ...

on November 18, 1967, premiering her ''Tres Canciones para Mezzosoprano y Orquesta'' (Three songs for

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

and symphonic orchestra), which was awarded the National Music Prize that year. She had previously conducted the choir and orchestra of the Asociación Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She has been active as a pedagogue throughout Venezuela, teaching

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

, and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

in various conservatories and music schools until her retirement in 1990. From 1985 until 1990, she was the director of the Escuela Nacional de Música Juan Manuel Olivares in Caracas; she has also served as director at the Music Conservatory in

Maracay Maracay () is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of Girardot Municipality. The population of Maracay and its ...

(1980). As a composer, she has produced several

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s and other vocal works. She has also written chamber music and soloist works, especially for the piano, harp, and trumpet. Her music has won over a dozen awards and prizes throughout her career, and she has also been honored with several Orders and Decorations.

References

1944 births Living people 20th-century Venezuelan classical composers Venezuelan conductors (music) Venezuelan harpists Venezuelan classical pianists Venezuelan women pianists Venezuelan harpsichordists Women harpsichordists Venezuelan women classical composers Venezuelan women conductors (music) Women classical pianists 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century classical composers 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century classical pianists Venezuelan music educators People from Mérida, Mérida Venezuelan women music educators 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists {{Venezuela-composer-stub