MARIA GUINAND
María Guinand, choral conductor, university professor and leader of many choral projects both nationally and internationally, has developed an intense musical career.
At
present, she conducts three prestigious choirs in Venezuela: the Cantoría
Alberto Grau, the Orfeón Universitario Simón Bolívar
and the Schola Cantorum of Caracas with whom she has recorded and toured
extensively. In 1989, Cantoría Alberto Grau was awarded six prizes
at two international competitions, the III Neuchatel International Festival
(Switzerland) and the XXXVII Polyphonic Guido D'Arezzo Competition (Italy).
In 2000, Orfeón Universitario Simón Bolívar was awarded
three gold medals at the Choral Olympics (Linz). Ms. Guinand is also the
Associate Conductor of Choral Symphonic Performances of the Orchestra Simón
Bolívar, and as conductor of the Polar Foundation Choir, she has
actively contributed to the development of choral music in private organizations.
Ms. Guinand specializes in Latin-American choral music of the 20th century, and is frequently invited as guest conductor of prestigious choirs in North America and Europe. She has lectured at the World Symposia for Choral Music and at conventions of the American Choral Directors’ Association. She has also served as a jury member for several choral competitions.
During the European Music Festival 2000 (organized by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart) she premiered Oswaldo Golijov's St. Markus Passion, as a special project for the Bach 250th anniversary celebrations. This performance received glowing press reviews and its subsequent recording was distinguished with a Grammy Award nomination. She conducted the Festivalensemble Choir during the European Music Festival in 2001 and 2002, and is currently editor of the "Musica de Latinoamerica" collection at Earthsongs, a music publishing house.
As a choral promoter, she organizes the activities of several national associations such as Schola Cantorum of Caracas Foundation, Movimiento Coral Cantemos Foundation, Bach Academy of Venezuela, and the National Academy for Gregorian Chant. She is the First Vice-President of the International Federation for Choral Music, and Professor of Music at University Simón Bolívar, where she served as Dean for four years.
In 1997 she obtained the Kulturpreis of the InterNationes Foundation for her work with the Bach Academy of Venezuela, an organization that has undertaken a project to perform all of Bach's oratorios, and his secular and sacred cantatas.
Ms. Guinand studied Choral Conducting in Venezuela under the guidance of Alberto Grau and has also worked with Helmuth Rilling in Stuttgart and the U.S.A. She has researched and studied "The Interpretation of Gregorian Chant" with Luigi Agustoni (Switzerland) and Johannes Berchmans-Goeschl (Germany), and has subsequently developed a programme of Gregorian Chant in Venezuela. She has conducted several orchestras including the Venezuelan Chamber Orchestra, Simón Bolívar Orchestra, Lara Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra.
Ms. Guinand has served as Dean of the Music School Jose Angel Lamas and of the Conservatory of Music Simón Bolívar, the main academic programme of the Foundation for Youth and Children Orchestras in Venezuela. She has also developed several centres of music education for children of limited economic means.
Born in Caracas in 1953, María Guinand obtained her Bachelors Degree in Music in 1976 and her Masters Degree in Music in 1982, both from the University of Bristol (England). She received her Choral Conducting Diploma in 1980 from the Youth Orchestra Conservatory in Caracas. Since 1976, she has intensively undertaken pedagogical activity in Music Theory, Analysis, Harmony, Music History, and Choral Conducting.