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ELISENDA FÁBREGAS

Spanish/American composer Elisenda Fábregas (b. 1955, Terrassa, Catalonia) is based in Seoul, South Korea, where she is a Visiting Professor of music and cultural studies at Kyung-Hee University Humanitas College (Global Campus). She was a Post-Doctoral Fulbright scholar and holds doctorates from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in music composition (DMA, 2011), and from Columbia University Teachers College in education (Ed.D. 1992); she also received a Masters and Bachelors in piano performance from The Juilliard School (1982-83). Before coming to the US, she also completed the highest studies as a pianist in Barcelona. During her early career, Elisenda performed as a pianist throughout Europe and the US, including a Carnegie Recital Hall debut in New York City in 1983. These experiences and training as a performer ultimately propelled her towards musical composition. She has written compositions for symphonic orchestra, wind ensemble, large mixed ensemble, triple concerto (piano, vln, vlc), cello concerto, choir with string quartet, a cappella choir, percussion ensemble, chamber music (quartets, trios and duos, some incl. guitar), song cycles with piano (incl. soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone); solo instrumental (violin, cello, flute, harp), and solo piano works. Elisenda’s compositions have been the subject of doctoral thesis in American and South Korean universities. In 2000, Elisenda received the Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year Award from the Music Teachers National Association in Washington D.C. for her piano work Portraits I. Recordings of Elisenda’s compositions have been released on Naxos, Bridge Records, Haenssler (Profil Edition), Albany Records, Centaur Records, Mundo Arts and NCA Classical Adventure Records; and her music is published by Hofmeister MusikVerlag (Leipzig, Germany), Alphonse Leduc & Cie. (Paris.), and Hidden Oaks Music Co.

PERFORMANCES & NEWS

Upcoming and recent Performances & Recording projects

Danses de la terra (2020) for solo cello will receive its premiere at Palau Güell in Barcelona on October 28, 2021. Danses de la terra was written for and dedicated to cellist Roger Morelló Ros who will perform the premiere at a private concert (by invitation only) Although not literally based on traditional Catalan music, this work is inspired by the composer’s childhood memories of Catalonian dances and folk music. As a Catalan living outside Catalonia since 1978, the author recreates a Catalan sound world of melodic and rhythmic folk idioms tinged with emotions from her childhood. This work consists of four dances: I. Ball d’entrada (Opening dance); II. Ball ceremonial de purificació (Ceremonial dance of purification); III. Dansa de rondalla amorosa (Dance of amorous tale; IV. Records de sardana (Memories of sardana).
Accents Catalans for orchestra (2016) will receive its USA premiere by the Florida Orchestra under the direction of Stuart Malina in two performances dedicated to the music of Spain: February 23, 2022, at Ruth Eckerd Hall; Clearwater, FL USA; and February 24, 2022, Mahaffey Theater; St. Petersburg, FL USA.
Accents Catalans (2016) will receive its Spanish/Catalonian premiere in two performances by the San Cugat Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of Salvador Brotons on March 11, 20:00, at Teatre-Auditori of Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona; and on March 20, 19:00, at Teatre La Massa, Vilassar de Dalt, Barcelona. The concert will include Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 and a work by Chaminade.
The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Elise Chong recently performed the Australian premiere of Accents Catalans for orchestra on October 9 at 7:3 pm at Winthrop Hall, UWA. This work was premiered by the Bucheon Philharmonic and maestro Youngmin Park in April of 2016 at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. The program was:

   CHABRIER | España
   TORROBA | Sonatina with guest artist Melissa Fitzgerald
   BIZET | Carmen Suite No. 1, and Mvts. 7 & 9 from Suite No. 2
   FÁBREGAS | Accents Catalans *Australian Premiere*
   RAVEL | Rapsodie Espagnole
   DE FALLA | “Final Dance” from The Three-Cornered

Masks for cla, vlc, pno (2019/21) was performed ‘live’ at Thomas Piercy “Tokyo to New York” Celebration on September 12, 5 PM, at Scorca Hall, National Opera Center, 330 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001. The concert included many international composers!
Duende for solo cello is originally one of the pieces from the collection Colores Andaluces for cello & piano. Duende was arranged for solo cello for Roger Morello Ross who premiered it at the opening concert of the chamber concert series commemorating the centenary of the Association of Concerts of Reus. Duende will be performed again by Roger Morelló on September 17, 2021, at Stiftung Florinskirche in Koblenz (Germany). Morello also performed it on August 7, 2021, at Sant Pere de Belltall, Belltall (Tarragona, Spain) during the celebration of ‘la Festa de l’All‘. He also performed Duende on October 11, 2020, at BasilikaMusik St. Aposteln Köln in Cologne, and on October 16 at the ‘Opening Concert of the Chamber Music Series that commemorates de Association of Concerts in Reus’, Tarragona (Spain).

A newly edited version of ‘Masks for clarinet, cello & piano‘ had the Catalonian premiere on April 23 and 24 in Tarragona, Spain, at a beautiful modernist church Esglesia del Sagrat Cor de Vistabella within the concert series titled “Primavera Musical a Vistabella” (Musical Spring in Vistabella); and in Creixells, Casal Municipal. Performers included Roger Morello Ros, cello; Oriol Estivill, clarinet; and Dani Ruiz Hurtado, piano.
Imitacio del foc for tenor and piano was released on Bridge Records with tenor Jess Muñoz, tenor, and pianist Oksana Glouchko on an album entitled, Visca L’Amor: Catalan Art Songs of the XX and XXI Centuries. The album is having a very good reception See Gramophone review. The Album is now available worldwide on all major platforms including ITunes, Amazon and Spotify. I am very proud and honored to be in the company of such highly regarded Catalan composers such as Frederick Mompou, Eduard Toldrà, Ricard Lamote de Grignon, Narcis Bonet, and Joan Comellas. And especially Frederick Mompou, whom I personally met and whose music I adore. Listen to some samples of the music. Imitació del Foc is based on poetry by Mallorquin poet Bartomeu Rosselló-Pòrcel (1913-1938). It includes four poems: I. Inici de campana (Quadern de sonets); II.Escolto la secreta… (from Imitacio del Foc, ‘Arbre de Flames’); III. Pluja brodada (Imitacio del foc, ‘Fira encesa’); and IV. Ardent himne (Imitacio del foc, ‘Arbre de Flames’).
My ongoing collaborative work with Roger Morelló Ros, a Catalan cellist based in Cologne, Germany, has led to a recent composition titled Uphill (from Clara to Robert) for cello and piano (2021) which was inspired by a 16^th century poem of Pedro Padilla, and also inspired by Clara’s feelings over her caring of Robert and the interruption of her composing activities. Extended program notes.
On September of 2020 Sonata for Flute & Piano, published by Alphonse Leduc, was recorded by Spanish flutist Roberto Alvarez, and Ukranian pianist Kseniia Vokhmianina, both based in Singapore and are planning a release of the recording soon.
Masks for clarinet, cello & piano (2019), commissioned by the IonSound Project Ensemble, was recorded in August 2020 by the same group. Masks for clarinet, cello and piano” received its New York City premiere on February 11, 2020, as part of the Random Access Music (RAM) Concert Series.
Pianist Becky Billock recorded Mirage for piano in a CD title Mother Earth that included works inspired by nature by Amy Beach, Marion Bauer, Henry Cowell, Edvard Grieg, Karen Tanaka, Bonnie McLarty, Elisenda Fabregas, Patrick Burke, Germaine Tailleferre, Robert Schultz, Katherine Hoover, Gwyneth Walker, and Kaja Bjørntvedt. More program details. Becky performed Mirage in her Pacific Northwest tour and also in Iceland and Norway.
On October 18, 2020, violinist Victoria Kaunzner performed and recorded Ancient Walls for solo violin and Wandering spirit for violin & piano in Valencia (Spain). She also performed these works in Berlin on October 11, 2020.
On December 28, 2019, Homenatge a Pau Casals for cello solo was performed by Roger Morelló Ross at the 143rd Concert of the the Anniversary of the Birth of Pau Casals at the Museum Pau Casals, El Vendrell (Tarragona). Morelló will also performed Homenatge a Pau Casals in Cologne (Klangraum-Kunigunde, January 26, 2020), in Vienna (St. Peters Kirche, February 3,4 , 2020), and in Berlin (Nikodemus Kulturkirche, February 23). He also performed Homenatge a Pau Casals for solo cello at the famed Gaudi building Casa Mila (La Pedrera) in Barcelona on March 17, 2019. Roger Morello Ros was a Resident Artist 2018/19 at Casa Mila in Barcelona). He has performed throughout Europe in festivals such as Musethica International Chamber Music Festival Berlin 2018, Aurora Winter Classic Festival 2016 in Sweden and Echo Festival 2016 in Italy, and in concert halls like Philarmonie Berlin, Pau Casals Auditorium and Josep Carreras Auditorium, among others. He is the winner of top competitions and has studied at Cologne University of Music (Germany). This October he will do his debut at Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona).