José Evangelista (5 August 1943 – 10 January 2023) was a Spanish composer and music educator who was based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. He was professor of composition at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

from 1979 to 2009. A member of the Canadian League of Composers, the

Sociedad General de Autores y Editores The Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (''Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, SGAE'') is the main collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers in Spain. It is similar to AGADU, ASCAP, GEMA, SADAIC, SACEM and SA ...

, and an associate of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

, Evangelista was known for his commitment to

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

and non-Western music.

Life and career

Born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on 5 August 1943, Evangelista began his professional training at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

where he studied

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

for seven years and earned a degree in that subject in 1967. At the same time he pursued music courses at the Valencia Conservatory and earned a premier prix in

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

there in 1967. His most influential teacher at that school was Vicente Asencio who taught

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 ...

, composition, and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

. In 1969 Evangelista moved to Canada and settled in the city of Montreal. From 1970 to 1973 he was a pupil of André Prévost at the

where he earned a

Master of Music The Master of Music (MM or MMus) is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually performance in singing or i ...

in composition. In 1974, he attended the

Darmstädter Ferienkurse Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Co ...

for contemporary music, and returned in 1984 when he was named a composer-in-residence. In the autumn of 1974 he entered the graduate music program at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

to study composition with Bruce Mather; he earned a

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

in 1984. From 1979 he taught on the music faculty of the

; among his students were composers Simon Bertrand, Analia Llugdar,

Samy Moussa Samy Moussa (born June 1, 1984) is a Canadian conductor and composer of classical music, living in Berlin. His works have been performed internationally. Early life and education Moussa was born and grew up in Montreal. He completed his undergrad ...

and Ana Sokolovic. He installed a workshop of Balinese Gamelan music at the university. He held the teaching position until 2009. Evangelista was active in Canada with the ''Traditions musicales du monde'', a concert society dedicated to promoting non-Western music which he helped found. He developed an interest in the music and culture of Southeast Asia, and a number of his compositions reflect that interest. To pursue studies in this music, he lived in Indonesia during the summers of 1976 and 1980 and in Burma during the summer of 1986 where he studied the Javanese gamelan and Burmese piano. He was made composer-in-residence at the Akademi Musik Indonesia in Yogyakarta in 1986. In 1993 and 1994, he was composer-in-residence with the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

. Evangelista died on 10 January 2023, at age 79.

Awards

In 1974 Evangelista was awarded first prize in the Confederación Espanola de Cajas de Ahorros Contest in Madrid for his ''En guise de fête''. In 1978 he helped found '' Les Événements du neuf'', a concert society dedicated to

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elem ...

. In 1982 he was awarded a special prize from Spain's Ministry of Culture for his work ''Vision'', and in 1988 he won first prize in the choral works competition of St Mary Magdalene's Church in Toronto for ''O quam suavis est''. His ''Nuevas monodías españolas'' was nominated as classical composition of the year at the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s of 2005. In 2019, he received the Émile-Nelligan Foundation's Serge-Garant Prize for his life's work.

Works

Evangelista's works include: * Sonatine for flute and piano, 1971 * ''Un mur à peine'' for soprano and eight musicians, 1972 * ''En guise de fête'' for soprano and chamber ensemble, 1974 * ''Monsieur Plume, un homme paisible'' for soprano and cello, 1974 * ''Arabesco'' for voice and cello, 1975 * ''Coros tejiendo, voces alternando'' for 12 voices, 1975 * ''Miroir fugace'' for string orchestra, 1975 * ''Va-et-vient'' for soprano, flute, clarinet and electric organ, 1976 * ''Consort'' for three voices, two harps and strings, 1977 * ''Immobilis in mobili'' for three winds, three strings, two pianos and percussion, 1977 * ''Carrousel'' for ondes Martenot and vibraphone, 1978 * ''Vent d'est'', ballet, 1979 * ''Motionless Move'' für three winds four strings, harp, keyboard, percussion, two synthesizers and electric guitar, 1980 * ''Pentagramme'', ballet, 1980 * ''Rainbow'', ballet, 1981 * ''Light and Shade'' for 11 musicians, 1981 * ''Ay, luna'' for mixed choir, 1981 * ''Brisé'' for guitar, 1982 * ''Vision'' for mezzo-soprano, piano, harp, electric guitar, cello and vibraphone, 1982 * ''Clos de vie'' for piano, harp, harpsichord, electric guitar, banjo, four strings and vibraphone, 1983 * ''Kotekan'' for mixed choir, 1983 * ''Rodolphe'', ballet, 1983 * ''Duo staccato'' for violin and piano, 1984 * ''Rondo'' for lute ensemble, 1984 * ''Éléphant dans le noir'' for small orchestra, 1985 * ''Piano concertant'' for piano and orchestra, 1986 * ''Dans la nuit'' for harp, synthesizer, vibraphone and marimbaphone, 1986 * ''Merapi'' for two winds, three strings, harp and vibraphone, 1986 * ''Nocturn i Albada'' for guitar, 1986 * ''Dum esset rex'' for mixed choir, 1986 * ''O quam suavis est'' for mixed choir, 1987 * ''Ecos'' for organ, 1987 * ''La Porte'', monodrama for soprano and percussion, 1987 * ''Monodas españolas'' for piano, 1988 * ''Monody Quartet'' for chamber ensemble, 1989 * ''O Bali'' for chamber ensemble, 1989 * ''Alice & friends'', 1990 * ''Airs d'Espagne'', 1992 * ''Violinissimo'', Concerto for violin & orchestra, 1992 * ''Symphonie minute'', 1994 * ''Alap & gat'', 1998 * ''Exercices de conversation'', opera, to a libretto by

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

, 2000 * ''Cancionero'', 2001 * Concertino, 2001 * ''Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse'', opera, 2001 * ''Concerto con brio'' for strings, 2004

References

External links

*
Les Événements du neuf
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca * Rodriguez, Adrian
José Evangelista – Composer in Constant Evolution
(interview) myscena.org 10 October 2017
José Evangelista
(biography) Centre de Documentation de la Musique Contemporaine {{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelista, Jose 1943 births 2023 deaths Spanish male composers McGill University School of Music alumni Université de Montréal alumni Academic staff of the Université de Montréal University of Valencia alumni Spanish expatriates in Canada Composers from the Valencian Community