Francisco Grau Vegara (22 January 1947 – 21 July 2019) was a Spanish musician, composer and

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...

Career

Born in

Bigastro Bigastro () is a municipality in the Valencian Community (Spain) situated in the south of the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura. It had a population of 6,450 at the time of the 2005 census. History In La Loma there is ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, he started playing instruments in his hometown's band at the age of seven. Later, he went on to compose more than 700 pieces and since 12 October 1997, he was the official author of the Spanish National Anthem (previously ''Marcha Granadera''). He was also a member of the ''Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando'' in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, the ''Real Academia de la Virgen de la Arrixaca'' in

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

and the

Academia de San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. From 1988 to 2019, he was the director of music for the Spanish Royal Guard and the Director of the Spanish Military Academy of Music since its creation. From 1988 – 2008, he was also director of the

Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard The Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard ( es, Unidad musical de la Guardia Real España) is the official music service of the Spanish Royal Guard of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to providing ceremonial honours and music to the K ...

. In January 2008, Grau became the first

of Music in the

, having been made a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

some years previously. He died on 21 July 2019 in

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-ea ...

, aged 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grau, Francisco 1947 births 2019 deaths Spanish soldiers Spanish musicians National anthem writers