Sylvia Constantinidis
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Constantinidis is a Venezuelan
-American
pianist, conductor, writer, music educator and composer.
of European ancestry and began her study of music at an early age in Caracas
, Venezuela
. Her music teachers in Venezuela
were: Blanca Estrella de Mescoli, Modesta Bor
, Abraham Abreu
, Alberto Grau, Maria Guinand
, Beatriz Bilbao
, Luis Felipe Ramon y Rivera
and Isabel Aretz
. She continued her studies in Paris
at The Ecole Martenot and L'Universite Sorbonne
de Paris
. She worked as a pianist in Venezuela, playing with orchestras and touring, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Music at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. In the 1990s, she graduated with a Masters in Piano Performance and later obtained a second Master in Music Theory and Composition, both degrees from the University of Miami
, Florida
, USA. She later studied composition with Ladislav Kubík
, in the The Czech Republic, and with Malcolm Singer, in England
.
Constantinidis began composing at an early age, and is a prolific composer. Her music has been played and broadcast internationally. Besides grants and fellowships, she received The Music Note Award 2003 for her 3 children's operas and the ASCAP Plus Award for Concert Music in 2009 and 2010. She is active as a conductor of youth orchestra and serves as artistic director of the Omorfia Contemporary Ensemble and the Southeast Composers Chamber Orchestra. Constantinidis teaches at colleges and universities, and is an advocate for music education. She has served as President of the Southeast Chapter of NACUSA (National Association of Composers of The United States of America).
Venezuelan people
Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation in South America called Venezuela. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak Spanish, and a majority of them are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pianist, conductor, writer, music educator and composer.
Life
Sylvia Constantinidis was born in VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
of European ancestry and began her study of music at an early age in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Her music teachers in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
were: Blanca Estrella de Mescoli, Modesta Bor
Modesta Bor
Modesta Bor was a Venezuela choir conductor, musicologist, teacher and composer. She was born in Juangriego and studied in Caracas with Elena Arrarte, Juan Bautista Plaza, Antonio Estévez, Maria de Lourdes Rotundo and Vicente Emilio Sojo, graduating with a degree in composition in 1959. She...
, Abraham Abreu
Abraham Abreu
Abraham Abreu is a Venezuelan harpsichordist and pianist . He earned a Masters of Music from Yale University in harpsichord and piano performance before becoming an internationally celebrated concert performer...
, Alberto Grau, Maria Guinand
Maria Guinand
Maria Guinand is an internationally renowned choral conductor.María Guinand received her bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Bristol, England in 1976 and 1982, respectively...
, Beatriz Bilbao
Beatriz Bilbao
Beatriz Bilbao is a Venezuelan composer. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and studied piano with Judith James and Gerty Haas, composition with Modesta Bor, and conducting with Alberto Grau and Gonzalo Castellanos in Venezuela...
, Luis Felipe Ramon y Rivera
Luis Felipe Ramón y Rivera
Luis Felipe Ramón y Rivera, composer, teacher, musician, folklorist and writer, was born in San Cristóbal, Táchira, August 23, 1913. He lived his first years in the Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal. Between 1919 and 1921 he lived, with his parents and siblings, successively in Cúcuta, San Luis and...
and Isabel Aretz
Isabel Aretz
Isabel Aretz was an Argentine-Venezuelan researcher, writer, ethnomusicologist and composer.-Biography:Isabel Aretz-Thiele was born in Buenos Aires. She was educated at the National Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts, studying pedagogy, piano with Rafael González and harmony, counterpoint...
. She continued her studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at The Ecole Martenot and L'Universite Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
de Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She worked as a pianist in Venezuela, playing with orchestras and touring, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Music at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. In the 1990s, she graduated with a Masters in Piano Performance and later obtained a second Master in Music Theory and Composition, both degrees from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA. She later studied composition with Ladislav Kubík
Ladislav Kubik
Ladislav Kubík is a contemporary Czech-American composer. His style is associated with other post-war Eastern European composers, such as Krzysztof Penderecki and Witold Lutosławski....
, in the The Czech Republic, and with Malcolm Singer, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Constantinidis began composing at an early age, and is a prolific composer. Her music has been played and broadcast internationally. Besides grants and fellowships, she received The Music Note Award 2003 for her 3 children's operas and the ASCAP Plus Award for Concert Music in 2009 and 2010. She is active as a conductor of youth orchestra and serves as artistic director of the Omorfia Contemporary Ensemble and the Southeast Composers Chamber Orchestra. Constantinidis teaches at colleges and universities, and is an advocate for music education. She has served as President of the Southeast Chapter of NACUSA (National Association of Composers of The United States of America).
Prizes and honors
Constantinidis list of grants, and awards include:- ASCAP-PLUS AWARD –Concert Music-, ASCAP, 2010
- ASCAP-PLUS AWARD –Concert Music-, ASCAP, 2009
- International Award: “ERM MEDIA”, MASTERWORKS OF THE NEW ERA RECORDING, SERIES, Volume 14, Jan 2007.
- “Excellence in Teaching Practices Award”, Miami Dade CollegeMiami Dade CollegeMiami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a state college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Florida College System. Miami Dade College is the largest school in the Florida College...
, Learning Innovations, April 2007. - Golden Apple Grant , Miami Dade CollegeMiami Dade CollegeMiami Dade College, or simply Miami Dade or MDC, is a state college with eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers located throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Florida College System. Miami Dade College is the largest school in the Florida College...
, May 2005. - “Dean’s List”, Frost School of MusicFrost School of MusicThe Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music or Frost School of Music of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, known from 1926 to 2003 as University of Miami School of Music, is a music school in the United States....
, University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, 2005. - Scholarship: “University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
”, Music Theory and Composition Program, Fall 2004-Fall 2007. - “Dean’s List”, Frost School of MusicFrost School of MusicThe Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music or Frost School of Music of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, known from 1926 to 2003 as University of Miami School of Music, is a music school in the United States....
, University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, 2004. - Grant: “THE EDUCATION FUND” Opera Adventure Project Dissemination , May 2004.
- “Educator of Note Award 2003”, Music Educator of the Year Award, “Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation” and the Young Patronesses of the Opera, the Florida Grand OperaFlorida Grand OperaFlorida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...
. For creatively motivating and inspiring young children in the field of music education, promoting the Opera field and the creation of Three Children Operas (original composition works), 2003. - Grant Participant, START GRANT, The Washington Department of Education. Music and Technology, Nov.2001-Jan. 2003.
- Grant: “THE EDUCATION FUND” Opera Adventure Project Dissemination , May 2002.
- Grant, “THE EDUCATION FUND” Opera Adventure Project, Jan 2001.
- Grant -MDCPS Conductor, String Youth Orchestra Program, Nov. 1999.
- Artist in Residence Grant: Consejo Nacional de la Cultura CONAC, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, 1993. - Artist in Residence Grant: Consejo Nacional de la Cultura CONAC, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, 1992. - “Dean’s List”, Frost School of MusicFrost School of MusicThe Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music or Frost School of Music of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, known from 1926 to 2003 as University of Miami School of Music, is a music school in the United States....
, University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, 1992. - Scholarship: “Paloma O’Shea”, SantanderSantander-People:*Francisco de Paula Santander , a Colombian military and political leader born in Cúcuta*Kike Santander , a Colombian composer and record producer born in Santiago de Cali...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Piano Master Classes, 1992. - Scholarship: “TCU/ Cliburn Piano Institute”, Fort Worth, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Summer Master Classes, tuition, 1992. - Scholarship: “Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho”., VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Graduate Studies: Master, Full Tuition, 1991-1993. - Scholarship: “Canford Summer Music Festival”, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, tuition scholarship, 1991. - Scholarship: “Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho”., VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Undergraduate studies, full tuition.
Works
Constantinidis composes for orchestra, chamber ensemble, theater and film scores. Selected works include:- “Rubi n Stone”, Op. 69, for orchestra, 2009
- “Pierrot et Colombine”, Op. 68, Concerto for violin, marimba and orchestra, 2009
- “Bomarzo”, Op. 67, Concerto for cello and orchestra, 2010
- “Schönheit”, Op. 66, for piano solo, 2009
- “Fiddeling Suite”, Op. 65, for string orchestra, 2010
- “Medusa”, Op. 64, for flute and manipulated sources, 2009
- “Cantos de Espanha”, Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra, Op. 63, 2008-9
- “Nostalgia”, Concerto for piano and orchestra, Op 62, 2006-9
- “Suite Apartaderos”, Op. 61, for clarinet and piano, 2008
- “Suite Margaritenha”, Op. 60, for clarinet and piano, 2008
- “French Songs Cycle”, Op. 59, for voice and piano, 2005-9
- “Tango”, Op. 55, for cello and piano, 2008
- “Retablos”, Op. 54, for violin and marimba, 2007
- “Treize Études”, Op. 53, for orchestra, 2006-7
- “Études de Concert”, Op. 52, for cello and piano, 2007
- “Études de Concert”, Op. 51, for piano
- “Density”, Op. 50, Etudes for two pianos, 2007
- “Sonatina for Joy”, Op. 49, for piano, 2007
- “Alleluhia”, Op. 48, for choir and orchestra, 2007
- “Prelude and Toccata”, Op. 47, for piano, 2006
- “Visions”, Op. 46, for Clarinet and String Quartet, 2006
- “Lunette”, Op. 45, for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Marimba and Piano, 2006
- “Amaranta Suite”, Op 44, for two pianos, 2006
- “Suite a Deaux”, Op. 43, for cello and piano, 2005-6
- “Pochoclo”, Op. 42, for oboe and clarinet, 2005
- “Macondo Poem”, Op. 41, for Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon, 2005
- “Petit Fugue”, Op. 40, for String Quartet, 2005
- “Fugue a Deaux”, Op. 39 for flute, two violins and Cello, 2005
- “Resonance”, Op. 38, for piano solo, 2005
- “Heraclium”, Op. 37, for chamber ensemble, 2006
- “Lunch Break”, Op. 36, for chamber ensemble, 2006
- “Rubi & Stone”, Op. 35, for flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb, French horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola and cello , 2005
- “Variations on a Twelve-Tone Row”, Op. 34, for 2 flutes, clarinet in Bb, French horn and bassoon, 2005
- “Imaya’s Miserere”, Op. 33, for choir and orchestra, 2004
- “Scenes”, Op. 32, for woodwind quintet, 2004
- “El Yaguarey”, Op. 31, for clarinet in Bb, cello and piano, 2004
- "Amaranta", Op. 30, for woodwind quintet and Piano, 2004
- “Walimai”, Op. 29, Symphonic Poem for orchestra, 2004
- “Rejoice”, Op. 28, for flute and string orchestra, 2003
- “Christmas Jambouree”, op. 27, for bells, flute and string orchestra, 2003
- “Tocatta Amazonica”, Op. 26, for piano, 2003
- “Fandango”, Op. 25, for orchestra, 2003
- “Dance of the Butterflies”, Op. 24, for string orchestra, 2002
- “Rubi’ n Stone”, Op. 23, for piano, 2002
- “Sunrise”, Op. 22, for viola and piano, 2002
- “The First Thanks Giving”, Op 21, Children Opera, 2002-3
- “Ponce de Leon”, Op. 20, Children Opera, 2001-2
- “Lincoln”, Op. 19, Children Opera, 2000-1
- “Music for Strings”, Op. 18, for string orchestra, 2001-2
- “Suite Tipica”, Op. 17, for string orchestra, 2001
- “Suite Indigena”, Op. 16, for string orchestra, 2000-1
- “Spanish Rhapsodie”, Op. 15, for orchestra, 2000
- “Latin Rhapsodie”, Op. 14, for orchestra, 2000
- “Impressions”, Op. 13, for piano solo, 1999
- “Sonatine No.1”, Op. 12, for piano solo, 1999
- “Suite Infantil”, Op. 11, for piano solo, 1997
- “Impresiones de Colores”, Op. 10, for ochestra, 1995
- “Valses Criollos”, Op. 9, for piano solo, 1990
- “Variaciones Folkloricas”, Op. 8, for piano solo, 1989
- “Arreglos Corales”, Op. 7, for choir, 1988
- “Piano Etudes”, Op. 6, for piano solo, 1984-7
- “Misa Antigua”, Op. 5, for voices, 1984-6
- “Piano Miniatures”, Op. 4, for piano, 1983-5
External links
- American Composers Forum
- American Music Center
- Archive of Greek Classical Composers
- Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica
- IAWM. International Alliance for Women in MusicInternational Alliance for Women in MusicThe International Alliance for Women in Music is an international membership organization of women and men dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity, such as composing, performing, and research, in which gender...
- NACUSA. The National Association of Composers/USA
- Society of Composers
- Sociedad Venezolana de Musica Contemporanea
- Sylvia Constantinidis official Website
- Sylvia Constantinidis official MySpace Music page