THE LATIN AMERICAN WOMEN COMPOSERS PROJECT

The Latin American Women Composer Project is an initiative focused on highlighting the musical contributions of Latin American women composers from various countries and different generations. It arises from the lack of spaces and opportunities to showcase and disseminate the prolific and varied production of these creators throughout the region.

Since 2020, The Latin American Women Composer Project in collaboration with Ensemble WARMI and Duo Ararokaí explore the diverse aesthetic richness and infinite creativity of Latin American women musicians through concerts, talks, and conferences in Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, and the U.S.

The project's pillars are:

to Rescue - Unearthing and bringing attention to works by women composers.
to Preserve - Safeguarding the legacy of female contributions to music across Latin America.
to Promote - Encouraging the creation and performance of music composed by Latin American women.

THE COMPOSERS

Diana Arismendi

(Venezuela)

Diana Arismendi is today one of the most important Venezuelan composers of her generation. Her broad musical production reaches more than fifty works, including orchestral music, children's opera, concertos, several works for percussion, piano and percussion, piano, various solo pieces, a string quartet, a woodwind quintet, for ensembles of various kinds, vocal and choral music, electronic music and a choral symphonic work.

Her works have been performed at festivals and concert halls by major orchestras, soloists and chamber groups in Venezuela, France, Germany, England, Luxembourg, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Iceland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, USA and Canada. Born in Caracas in 1962, she began at an early age her music education.

She holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition (DMA) and a Masters in Composition and Latin American Music (MM) from the Catholic University of America, in Washington, DC. under the tutelage of Helmut Braunlich. She also has recieved the "First Prize in Analysis" and the "Diplôme Supérieur de Composition" from "L'Ecole Normale de Musique" in Paris where she studied under Japanese master Yoshihisa Taïra, graduating in 1986. She is a Professor at the "Universidad Simón Bolívar" where she was the Graduate Music Coordinator for five years. She is currently the Culture Coordinator and Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the university.

Since 1996, Ms. Arismendi has been the Executive Director of the Latin American Festival of Music in Caracas. Parallel to her intense creative work, she has kept her research in the field of teaching music composition in Latinamerican which has led her to give talks and lectures on this topic. Three CDs have been devoted exclusively to her works: "Fiction" 1996, "Feasts," 1998 and "Signs in the Sky" 2007. Many of her works have been published in various labels and anthologie

Nora Ponte

(Argentina - Puerto Rico)

Winner of the Municipal Composition Prize of Buenos Aires, Ponte was awarded the First Prize of the he Christoph Delz International Composition Competition in Basel (Switzerland). The competition’s exceptional jury included Henri Pousseur, Jonathan Harvey, and Frederic Rzewski. Over her career, Ponte has been a recipient of numerous prestigious scholarships, including those from the Italian Government, the Antorchas Foundation, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the Wellesley College Composers Conference, and the Italian Cultural Institutes of Córdoba and Buenos Aires, as well as the Universidad Católica Argentina.

Ponte has served as a composer-in-residence at prominent events, such as the Borealis Festival (Norway), the Contemporary Music Festival at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (USA), Festival de Arte, Nuevas Músicas y Experimentación Sonora (Puerto Rico), the Caribbean Composers Forum, the Inter-American Festival of the Arts (Puerto Rico). She has also been an invited composer at numerous seminars and festivals in Europe, the United States, and Argentina, including the Studio 300 Festival, June in Buffalo, Ictus Ensemble Workshop, and Sinfonietta Omega.

Ponte’s compositional style is characterized by its versatility, with each work creating a unique universe of sonic and structural relationships. Her hallmark traits include rhythmic richness and the innovative exploration of instrumental colors. Traditional instruments in her works often blend, transform, and evolve into surprising new sounds. Her works have been premiered in countries including Brazil, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Argentina, and the United States. Ponte’s compositions span a wide range of genres, including solo, ensemble, choir, orchestra, and electronic media.

Ponte holds a Doctorate in Composition from the State University of New York at Buffalo, a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition from the Universidad Católica Argentina, and advanced studies in Composition and Electronic Music from the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Florence, Italy) and the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia (Rome, Italy). She is currently a professor in the Department of Music at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

Marta Lambertini

(Argentina)

Marta Lambertini was born in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, and pursued composition studies at the Faculty of Arts and Musical Sciences of the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA). There, she was mentored by renowned composers Luis Gianneo, Roberto Caamaño, and Gerardo Gandini. She furthered her education through a scholarship from the Center for Research in Mass Communication, Art, and Technology, where she studied with Gerardo Gandini, Francisco Kröpfl, José Maranzano, and Gabriel Brncic.

She dedicated much of her career to teaching, holding positions at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, the National Conservatory of Music, the School of Fine Arts in Quilmes, and the Faculty of Arts and Musical Sciences at UCA. At UCA, she served as Dean, Full Professor, and Professor Emerita, making significant contributions to music education in Argentina.

Lambertini’s work earned her numerous prestigious awards, including the 1999 Konex Award, the First National Music Prize, the Municipal Prize of Buenos Aires, and the APA Lifetime Achievement Award. She also received recognition from the National Fund for the Arts in 1972 and 1975. As a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts, she was widely respected in the field. In 2008, her opera ¡Cenicientaaa...! was recognized as an Outstanding Children's Production by Teatros del Mundo, and she was nominated for the Clarín Award as Best Classical Music Figure. She also served as a juror for the 2009 Konex Awards and participated in various national and international competitions. In addition to her compositions, Lambertini authored Gerardo Gandini, música-ficción (Madrid), a book reflecting her deep engagement with music theory and history.

Lambertini’s compositional style is characterized by its ongoing process of reinterpretation and references to preexisting music and texts. She viewed music as a network of dialogues between different aesthetics from various times and places. Her works include operas such as Alice in Wonderland, Oh Eternidad, Hildegard, and ¡Cenicientaaa...!, as well as orchestral and choral pieces like Misa de pájaros and Galileo descubre las cuatro lunas de Júpiter. Her extensive output also includes chamber music, vocal pieces, and piano works. Lambertini passed away in 2019, leaving behind a legacy of innovative compositions and invaluable contributions to music and education in Argentina.

Jacqueline Nova Sondag

(Colombia)

Born in Belgium, Jacqueline Nova Sondag moved at a young age to Bucaramanga, Colombia, her father's hometown. She began her musical studies at the age of seven. Nova was the first Colombian woman to graduate from the National Conservatory of Music at the National University of Colombia in 1967. She initially excelled as a soloist and accompanist before shifting her focus to composition, studying under Fabio Gonzales Zuleta and Emilio Atehortúa. After earning her degree in musical composition in 1967, she moved to Argentina.

Nova was awarded a scholarship to the Latin American Center for Advanced Musical Studies at the Torcuato di Tella Institute in Buenos Aires, where she studied with notable figures such as Alberto Ginastera, Luigi Nono, Gerardo Gandini, and Francisco Kröpfl. She worked extensively in electroacoustic media, integrating traditional instruments with modern techniques. Her compositions combined traditional methods, free serialism, references to indigenous music, and evocations of popular music.

In 1972, Nova conducted a research project on the human voice and its electronic transformations at the Phonology Studio of the University of Buenos Aires. This project culminated in her composition Creación de la tierra (Creation of the Earth).

Nova’s works have been performed by prestigious orchestras, including the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, the Colombian Symphony Orchestra, and the Washington National Symphony Orchestra. Her compositions received critical acclaim at events such as the 1st Latin American Music Festival and the 3rd Annual Symposium of American Music in Virginia, USA. Her music has been shared across Europe and Latin America through radio broadcasts, publications, films, lectures, and concerts.

Between 1969 and 1970, Nova directed a radio series titled Asimetrías on the National Broadcasting Service, presenting 22 sessions featuring new musical works and analyses. In 1970, she founded the group Nueva Música (New Music) to perform compositions by living composers, particularly those from Latin America. However, the ensemble, which operated under Nova's organization, sound control, and direction, only performed twice due to her health problems and financial challenges. The group dissolved in 1975. Jacqueline Nova passed away at the age of 40, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and exploration in Colombian and Latin American music.

Graciela Paraskevaídis

(Uruguay)

Graciela Paraskevaídis (1940–2017) studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. She was a scholarship recipient at the Latin American Center for Advanced Musical Studies at the Torcuato Di Tella Institute and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She was also invited to participate in the Artists-in-Residence Program in Berlin and the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart.

Her works received recognition from the Municipality of Buenos Aires, the National Endowment for the Arts (Argentina), the Academy of Arts in Berlin, and the Ministry of Education and Culture (Uruguay). Part of her compositional output has been included in recordings published in various countries, including three monographic albums in Uruguay.

She was a professor at the University of the Republic in Montevideo and had an extensive teaching career in private settings. She conducted seminars and courses in Germany, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Scotland, Great Britain, Mexico, Switzerland, Uruguay, and Venezuela. She was a member of the organizing team for the Latin American Courses on Contemporary Music and the Núcleo Música Nueva in Montevideo.

Her area of study was Latin American art music from the 20th and 21st centuries. She was a regular contributor to the magazine Pauta, the Revista Musical Chilena, MusikTexte, and the dictionary Komponisten der Gegenwart. Between 1990 and 2000, she co-edited the yearbook of the International Society for Contemporary Music. Together with Max Nyffeler, she created the website www.latinoamericamusica.net in 2004 and served as its editor-in-chief from 2010.

She compiled Hay que caminar sonando, a collection of texts by Bolivian composer Cergio Prudencio (Otro Arte, La Paz, 2010), and Escritos by Uruguayan musician Jorge Lazaroff (Tacuabé, Montevideo, 2014). She also authored the books La obra sinfónica de Eduardo Fabini (Trilce, 1992) and Luis Campodónico, compositor (Tacuabé, 1999). For her contributions to culture, she was honored with the Goethe Institute Medal (Germany) and the Morosoli Award (Uruguay).

Graciela Agudelo

(Méjico)

Graciela Agudelo Murguía was born in Mexico City. She began studying piano at the age of six and pursued her piano career with Leonor Boesch at the National School of Music at UNAM from 1954 to 1962. Between 1970 and 1974, she studied composition in the Music Creation Workshop at the INBA with Héctor Quintanar and Mario Lavista, as well as at the National Conservatory of Music. Dedicated to children's music education, she authored the GAM Method for Musical Initiation for Children. She also served as the editor of the official magazine of the National School of Music at UNAM and wrote El hombre y la música, published in 1998 by Editorial Patria.

Together with flutist Alejandro Escuer, Agudelo co-founded ONIX Nuevo Ensamble de México, an instrumental group focused on promoting contemporary chamber music. She composed works for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, vocal pieces, and solo instruments, as well as music for theater, television, and educational productions. Her works have been recorded on CDs and discussed in periodicals and books both in Mexico and abroad. They have been performed in prominent venues across the country and internationally, including at the Mexican music series organized by the University of California, Fresno, and in concerts in Buenos Aires, Caracas, Brussels, Madrid, and Tokyo.

She was a founding member of the Mexican Society of New Music, where she held leadership roles, and oversaw the Secretariat of Dissemination at the National School of Music at UNAM. Additionally, she presided over the Music Council of the Three Americas (COMTA/IMC) and was honorary president of the Music Council in Mexico (CUMUS). Agudelo was a recipient of the FONCA Program for Support of Cultural Projects and Co-investments and was a member of the National System of Art Creators.

Some of her major works include Navegantes del crepúsculo for clarinet, bassoon, and piano; Invocación for cello; Arabesco for two recorders; Arqueofonía for piano; Espejismo for violin, clarinet, cello, and bassoon; Tres piezas mexicanas for chamber orchestra; Sonósferas for string orchestra; Apuntes del viaje for string quartet; Venías de ayer for wind quintet; and A un tañedor for percussion.

Alba Potes

(Colombia)

Born in Cali, Colombia, she began composing music in 1990. In her music, one notes rich European influences blended with occasional traces of rhythms and melodic gestures inspired by Latin-American traditional music. Ms. Potes is the Artistic Director and Founder of the music series Las Américas en Concierto (americasenconcierto.org).

Potes' composition, Cantos Escondidos (Hidden Songs) won the Concurso Latinoamericano de Composición "Antonio María Valencia" Mujeres que dejan huella en el arte (Women that Leave a Mark on the Arts), Bellas Artes, Institución Universitaria del Valle, Colombia, December, 2021. Her compositions, Cantares para Orquesta and Reflexiones were winners of the 2002 New Music Reading Sessions of The Women's Philharmonic in San Francisco and the 1994 Riverside Symphony's First International Composers Reading Project in New York. She is the winner of the "Music of Changes Competition", whose prize included a commission for Y la brisa trae aroma de cadmia and a concert dedicated to her works. Ms. Potes has received commissions, among others, from the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, Esbjerg Ensemble (Denmark), Music of Changes, Cantori New York, Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts, Colombia's Luis Angel Arango Recital Hall/Banco de la República, Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music and the Office of Academic Affairs of Hostos Community College.

Her opera Comala is based on the novel Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo. With a libretto by Alba Potes, it was commissioned by Cantori New York and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music. Pedro Páramo was conducted by Mark Shapiro with guest artists Peter Tantsits, tenor, Dan Kempson, baritone, and Alfonso Diaz, narrator. Orchestral performances include Reflexiones by the Queens-based string orchestra conducted by Eugene Muneyoshi, Lucidity Chamberistas, the world premiere at Carnegie Hall of Tucanos for guitar and chamber orchestra, the world premiere of Cantares para Orquesta by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Venezuela, and Cantares para Orquesta by the National Symphony of El Salvador.

Ms. Potes' music has also been performed by the Montreal Chamber Orchestra, The North/South Consonance, the National Symphony of Colombia, the Symphony Orchestra of Cali, Darmstadt 2000 Internationale Ferienkurse fur Neue Musik, International Alliance for Women in Music, the ISCM in New York, Parnassus, Ensemble Aventure (Germany), the Composer's Conference at Wellesley College, the Network for New Music, Momenta Quartet, Ensemble CG (Colombia), The Stefan Wolpe Society, Ensamble Warmi (Argentina), The New York New Music Ensemble, the Institute for New Music in Freiburg, Germany, and the ISCM in Seoul, South Korea. Her music has been heard in England, Colombia, Brazil, Austria, Russia, Colombia, El Salvador, Germany, Mexico, Belgium, Argentina, and Venezuela.

Potes holds a DMA and an M.M. in composition, as well as a B.M. in music theory from Temple University where she studied composition with Matthew Greenbaum, Ursula Mamlok, and Maurice Wright. She has studied orchestration with Frank Brickle. Ms. Potes teaches at the College Preparatory Division at Mannes School of Music-The New School, Pratt Institute, and Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY.

Cacilda Borges Barbosa

(Brazil)

Cacilda Campos Borges Barbosa was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1914. At just 14 years old, she published her first piece, a solo piano waltz, as a fundraising effort for a hospital. That same year, she began her studies at the National Institute of Music in Rio. After graduating, Barbosa worked as a piano accompanist for various dance groups, composing original works for the dancers. These compositions, including waltzes and chorinhos, opened new doors for her career.

At the age of 16, Barbosa began collaborating with Heitor Villa-Lobos, a prominent Brazilian composer. Villa-Lobos was spearheading an initiative to integrate musical education into elementary schools, promoting nationalism and fostering young music creators. While not formally trained as an educator, Villa-Lobos enlisted a team of skilled musician-educators, including Barbosa. She later became the director of the Villa-Lobos Institute and Rio de Janeiro’s Music Service. Barbosa also gained recognition as a conductor, leading ensembles such as the Radio Mayrink Veiga orchestra.

Barbosa’s compositions were deeply rooted in Brazilian folk tunes and rhythms. As an educator, she taught at the National School of Music at the University of Brazil and the Popular School of Music Education. In the 1950s, she began publishing extensive works on music education, including Brazilian Studies for Singing. Her compositional style aligned with Villa-Lobos’ vision of musical nationalism, blending Brazilian folk traditions with classical forms. Barbosa wrote dances, études for solo piano and voice, chamber music, choral works, and orchestral pieces. She was also a pioneer in electronic music in Brazil, showcasing her interest in technological advancements. One of her most significant contributions was Ritmoplastia, or the “study of rhythm.” Drawing from her experience in dance, Barbosa collaborated with choreographer Clara Semeles to create a unique system of notation that combined musical and rhythmic symbols with graphic representations of bodily movements. This system aimed to preserve Brazilian folk dances, paralleling the work of ethnomusicologists in preserving folk music.

Barbosa retired from teaching in 1973 but continued writing pedagogical material for decades, including her final two self-published volumes in her 90s. Despite her accomplishments in education, she always identified foremost as a composer. Barbosa passed away in Rio de Janeiro in 2010 at the age of 96, leaving behind a legacy of innovation in Brazilian music and dance.

Cecilia Villanueva

(Argentina)

Born in 1964, Villanueva studied piano with Leticia Corral and Elizabeth Westerkamp, giving numerous solo concerts throughout Argentina. Later, she pursued composition studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the National University of La Plata under Mariano Etkin. She is Professor of Composition at the School of Arts at the National University of La Plata, Argentina.

Villanueva was composer in Residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart; Künstlerhof Schreyahn and Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, all in Germany. Her music has been played at major Festivals and Contemporary Music Series, among others, WDR Forum Köln; Pro Musica Nova Bremen; VII, X and XVI Latin-American Music Festival Caracas; Musiktriennale Köln; ISCM World Music Days, Germany; Musica Nova, Leipzig; NovAntiqua Köln: Donaueschinger Musiktage; Wien Modern: Musik Biennale Berlin: Sounds of the Americas Festival, New York; Frau Musica Nova, Köln; Neue Musik Rümlingen, Switzerland; Forum Neue Musik, Frankfurt; Europäisches Musikmonat Basel; 4to. Encuentro Latinoamericano, Belo Horizonte, Brasil; Metropolenprojekt Buenos Aires-Berlin; Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik; Musica viva, Munich; Tempus Fugit, Buenos Aires; Festival Distat Terra, Choele Choel, Argentina.

Her music is played by international Ensembles like Auryn-Quartett, Ensemble Aventure, Distat Terra Ensemble, Freiburger Schlagzeug Ensemble, KNM Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble MusikFabrik, Ensemble Resonanz, Thürmchen Ensemble, as well as Orchestras like BR, HR and WDR in Germany and the National Orchestra of Argentina.

Marisa Rezende

(Brazil)

Marisa Rezende was born in Rio de Janeiro. She began playing piano at four without instruction and began lessons at age five with teacher Marieta de Saules, who had a lasting impact on her, particularly in fostering discipline. She studied piano at Escola de Musica in Rio, but her studies were interrupted by marriage. Even before graduating, Marisa was already performing as a soloist with the Recife Symphony Orchestra.

She completed a master's degree in piano at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied composition with Peter Fricker and David Gordon. She also completed a doctorate in composition at UCSB, and post-doctoral work at the University of Keele, England. After completing her studies, she took a position at Escola de Musica in Rio teaching composition. In 1989 she helped to found Musica Nova, an organization to premiere new music compositions, working with Rodolfo Caesar and Rodrigo Cicchelli. She also founded the Music and Technology Laboratory (LaMuT), aimed at teaching and researching electroacoustic music and compositional analysis. She was one of the founding members of the National Association for Research and Graduate Studies in Music (ANPOM).

Marisa Rezende is an example of resistance in the face of the erasure of women in the history of music. One of the most frequent questions she faces concerns the challenges of composing in a patriarchal society. Nevertheless, she remains optimistic about the space women have been gaining, not only in music but in various other fields, although asymmetries have not disappeared.

Marisa Rezende retired from academia in 2002 but continued her musical production and research. Her works have been performed by groups such as the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Lontano Ensemble (London), and Da Capo Players (New York).

She has participated in numerous festivals and biennials in Brazil and abroad, such as the Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea (Rio de Janeiro), Sonidos de las Americas (New York), the Brazilian Music Festival in Karlsruhe (Germany), and the Música Nova Festival (São Paulo), organized by Gilberto Mendes.

In 1999 she was awarded the Bolsa Vitae de Artes. She retired from teaching in 2002 but operates the Music and Technology Lab at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and continues work as a composer. She has also received are the UCSB Music Affiliates Award (1984) for her piece "Sexteto em Seis Tempos," and the Vitae Arts Grant (1999) for the production of the work "O (In)dizível," which premiered in 2003. In recognition of Marisa Rezende’s valuable contribution to the culture and music education of the country, the Contemporary Music Festival (FMCB) honored the composer during its 5th edition, held in 2018.

Her work was recorded on about 10 CDs, being "Marisa Resende: chamber music" by the LAMI / USP label, the most expressive. Awarded by the ABM with the Villa-Lobos Medal and honored by the V FMCB of Campinas.

Balvina Ramos

(Argentina)

Balvina Ramos is an andean folkloric singer from Bacoya a small mountain village in Northwest Argentina. Her compositions bring up essence of her people and of "canto con caja." What else could the copla be, if not woman? And in Balvina’s voice, we hear the magic sounds of the Puna Region, all its charm, its mystery, its deep night, and its burning sun. He works speak of a woman made of song, and a song made of woman.

Balvina grew up as a young shepherdess, counting the stars at night to avoid feeling so alone in the middle of desolated hills. In Balvina's coplas conquered Salta, Argentina, and the world. Her coplas earned the recognition of a Europe eager for the ancestral song of the first inhabitants of our lands.

In Balvina's caja and singing we hear the sentiment of the people who never gave up, who have no reason to feel defeated, as long as someone sings—and sings to them—as she does. Her album The Heart of the Copla, was made with pure effort and breath, with the courage of those who do not have big labels supporting them, but with the pure desire of those who know they have much to say and many who will want to listen, is a very special work. Because it is made with the rigor of true professionals, and with the enthusiasm and vocation of those who sing because they want to sing. Because it is their best way of expressing themselves. Because they also know that people want to hear them. And that’s what happens with all of Balvina Ramos’s works: those of us who love the Puna songs, we wait for them, we long for them, we live through them, and we enjoy them. Because we know that Balvina’s compositions will take us far—both in tim and space: up the hill and toward the moon, a woman of our time and a timeless woman. A voice that stands firm in the silence and invents sounds to transport us. That and much more is Balvina Ramos, woman made copla and copla made woman.

Balbina's last collaboration includes "Tira Torito" , a fusion of northern Agentina ancient singuing with electronic sounds. The album titled King Coya, shows how composer Gaby Kerpel redefines Andean music taking you home to the mountains.