T he Living Composers Project

Toro-Pérez, Germán (b. 1964, Bogotá). Colombian composer, now resident in Austria, of mostly orchestral, chamber and electroacoustic works that have been performed throughout the Americas and Europe.

Mr. Toro-Pérez privately studied guitar with Carlos Ramírez from 1974-78, piano with Sergio Mesa from 1983-85 and composition with Luis Torres Zuleta from 1984-85 in Bogotá and also studied music theory at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá from 1981-84. He studied composition with Erich Urbanner at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna from 1986-92 and also studied electroacoustic music there. In addition, he has attended conducting courses with Peter Eötvös, Karl Österreicher and Dominique Rouits, as well as a computer music workshop at IRCAM in 1999.

His honors include First Prize in the Tage der zeitgenössischen Klaviermusik in Vienna (1996, for Arco) and First Prize in the Concurso Nacional de Música Electroacústica in Bogotá (1997) and a mention in the Concours International de Musique Électroacoustique de Bourges (1998, both for Estudio de ruidos y campanas). He has also earned the Staatsstipendium from the government of Austria (1997), the Anerkennungspreis from the government of Niederösterreich (1999) and the Kompositionspreis der Ersten Bank (2001, for Stadtplan von New York - Music after Adolf Wölfli).

His music has been heard throughout Austria and Colombia and in Argentina, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and the USA. He has received commissions from the Institut International de Musique Électroacoustique de Bourges, ISCM, the Junge Philharmonie (Vienna), the festival Klangspuren, the Ministerio de Cultura in Colombia, the festival Nuovi Spazi Musicali (directed by Ada Gentile), ORF, the Tage der zeitgemässen Musik (Bludenz, Austria), and the Wiener Saxophonquartett.

He co-founded with Johannes Kretz and Jorge Sánchez-Chiong the NewTonEnsemble in Vienna in 1996 and has since served as its co-artistic director.

He has taught at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna since 1999, where he has been director of the computer music course since 2002.

He has lived in Austria since 1986.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: toroperez@aon.at

Street address: Mr. Germán Toro-Pérez, Leopold Figlgasse 69, A - 3040 Neulengbach, Austria

Telephone/fax: + 4302 7725 2288

Website: http://www.home.pages.at/newtonensemble

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

ORCHESTRAL: Earth, Light and Blue, Homenaje a Mark Rothko, string orchestra, 1990-91; Azogue, 2 orchestral groups, 1992; Rothko III, large orchestra, 2000-01; Stadtplan von New York - Music after Adolf Wölfli, small orchestra (15 players), 2001; Untitled 2002² - Music for 17 Wind Instruments, Accordion and Percussion, small orchestra (20 players), 2002

CHAMBER MUSIC: Seis Fragmentos, flute, 1990; Rastro, clarinet, 1992; ...en continuo movimiento..., flute (+ alto flute), piano, 1994; Musique de Saxophone, 4 saxophones, 1994; Stichworte, bass clarinet, live electronics, 1996; Ficciones, flute (+ piccolo, alto flute), ensemble (clarinet [+ bass clarinet], alto saxophone [+ tenor saxophone], trombone, 2 guitars, violin, viola, cello, percussion), 2-track tape, 1996-97; Memorial, flute, clarinet, trumpet, string quartet, double bass, percussion, 1998; Inventario III, harp, 2 violins, viola, 2 celli, piano, percussion, 2-track tape, 1999; Rothko II, flute (+ piccolo, bass flute), oboe (+ English horn), clarinet, bass clarinet (+ contrabass clarinet), alto saxophone (+ tenor saxophone), trumpet, live electronics, 2000, revised 2002; Nuper rosarum flores, 2 clarinets, alto saxophone, bassoon, accordion, live electronics ad libitum, 2000; 5 Studies after Italo Calvino, flute, bass clarinet, piano, 2001; Untitled 2002¹ - Music for a Youth Ensemble, flute, clarinet, 2 violins, cello, prepared upright piano, piano 4 hands, 2002; Rulfo/voces - 4 Estudios según Juan Rulfo, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, string quartet, double bass, 2003

CHORAL: Tambores del Magdalena (text from a Colombian folksong), mixed chorus, 1985; Drama em Gente (text by Fernando Pessoa), soprano, 5 male voices, small orchestra (15 players), 1992-93

VOCAL: La Luna (text by Jorge Luis Borges), soprano, piano, 1987; Domus Daedali (text by Jorge Luis Borges), soprano, clarinet (+ bass clarinet), harp, violin, viola, cello, marimba (+ xylophone), 1997

PIANO: Arco, 2 quarter-tone pianos, 1995; Inventario II, piano, 2-track tape, 1998-99

ELECTROACOUSTIC: Vocal 1 (text by the composer), 2-track tape, 1990; Estudio de ruidos y campanas, 8-track tape, 1995; Aire, 2-track tape, 1997-98; Inventario I, 2-track tape, 1999, revised 2003

MULTIMEDIA: 12 akustisch-visuelle Fragmente aus einer experimentellen Animation, 2-track tape, computer animation (by Walter Bohatsch, Andreas Niederer), film projector, 1999; Ulixes/Kassandra - Macht und Ohnmacht der Sprache, 2 percussion, 2 slide projectors (slides by Lisa Kunit), 2000

(Last updated on January 10, 2004)