Exploring Mexico's Contemporary Classical Flute Music

Leonardo Coral

He studied with Federico Ibarra at the National School of Music of the UNAM. He obtained a master's degree in composition with honorable mention at the UNAM with the symphonic work Ciclo de vida y muerte (Life and Death Cycle) which was premiered by the OSN at the XXXIII Manuel Enríquez International Forum of New Music.

 

He has composed more than 130 works which have been performed in Mexico, Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia, Australia and Latin America. He has received various grants from FONCA. In 2001, 2004 and 2010 he entered the National System of Creators. There are 23 CDs with his music. The main national orchestras and ensembles have premiered his symphonic and chamber works. Notable soloists: María Teresa Frenk, Mauricio Náder, Juan Carlos Laguna, Gonzalo Gutiérrez, Krisztina Deli, Omar Hernández-Hidalgo, Fernando Domínguez, Hugo Ticciati, have presented his piano, guitar, viola, clarinet, violin concertos. Michael Tsalka has premiered his keyboard works in Europe, China and the United States. In 2014, Tsalka premiered his Sonata 9 for forte piano at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Tere Frenk and Viktoria Horti have disseminated his Sonata for violin and piano in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

 

He has received the Circulo Disonus (1984), Melesio Morales (2005), Sistema de Fomento Musical (2006, 2008), SACM (2007) and Museum Geelvinck (3rd place, 2012) awards in Amsterdam. In 2010, OFUNAM commissioned Águila Real from him, on the occasion of Mexico's Bicentennial as an independent country. Distinguished conductors such as José Areán, Félix Carrasco, José Luis Castillo, Sergio Eckstein, Juan Carlos Lomónaco, Fernando Lozano, Rodrigo Macías, Jesús Medina, Francisco Orozco, Román Revueltas, Miguel Salmon Del Real, Bojan Sudjic, Antonio Tornero, Juan Trigos, Bartholomeus Van de Velde, Armando Vargas, Armando Zayas, have presented his orchestral works. Leonardo Coral Teaches classes at the FAM and at the Ollin Yoliztli.

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Apart from the works mentioned above, some of his most significant works are: Piano Sonata No. 4, premiered by Camelia Goila and broadcast by Michael Tsalka almost all over the world; Piano Sonata No. 7, premiered by Tere Frenk in Mexico, Paris and Oxford; Concerto for piano and chamber ensemble, recorded on CD by Ónix; Máquina férrea for orchestra, continuously performed by various national orchestras since 2005 and recorded on CD by the OSJEV;

 

Eduardo Angulo

Eduardo Angulo was born in January 14, 1954 in Puebla, México. He began his musical training at the age of 7 at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City, where he studied violin with Maestro Vladimir Vulfman and graduated with honorable mention in 1973. That same year, the government of Holland in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Culture awarded him a scholarship to do a post graduate degree in violin and composition at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. In 1975 he graduated with a prize of Excellence.

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Since his return to Mexico, he has dedicated himself almost entirely to composition. His works include; symphonic music, chamber music, choral pieces, as well as concertos for piano, harp, harpsichord, viola, guitar and flute. The majority of his compositions were commissioned by different soloists, musical groups and

publishing houses. The WDR (RundFunkOrchester Köln, Germany), La Orquesta de la Radio y Televisión Española, La Sinfónica de Panamá, The Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, La Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, La Orquesta Filarmónica de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, The Bournemouth Sinfonietta (England), La Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa, La Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, La Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes (México), The Bayerische Landeszuporchester (Germany), The String Quartet of the Katowice Philarmonic (Poland) and the Dresden String Quartet (Germany) among others, have interpreted his compositions in different concert halls and important festivals such as the International Guitar Festival in Gdansk (Poland), El Primer Gran Festival de la Ciudad de México, El Festival Internacional Cervantino, The XIX International Guitar Festival in Schweinfurt (Germany) and the XVI Foro de Música Nueva in Mexico City.

 

Eduardo Angulo alternates his composing with concertizing and in June 1994 premiered his Viola Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nuevo León (México), appearing himself as the soloist. His work Dos Plegarias para Guitarra y Orquesta received an honorable mention in the Segundo Concurso Internacional de Composición “Alberto Ginastera” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2003 he won the 2° Prize in the International Composition Contest in Germany for his work “Rituali” for guitar, mandolin, violin, viola and cello.

 

Diana Syrse

Diana Syrse is a composer and singer from Mexico. Her sonic language often incorporates voice, electronics and traditional instruments from Latin America to evoke powerful, theatrical images. In her urban soundscape, she deals with socially relevant issues and makes an artistic contribution to the discourses of our time. On several occasions, her music is performed by herself in collaboration with other ensembles, choirs, and orchestras.

 

Her catalog includes works written for choirs, orchestras, ensembles, electronics, electroacoustic music, dance, opera and new music theater. Her music has been performed in Europe, Canada, Latin America, the United States, Africa and Asia. In the field of opera and theater, she has worked as composer-in-residence in more than 15 Musiktheater/Opera productions, collaborating with several authors and directors in Germany at the Kammerspiele München, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Neuköllner Oper Berlin, Staatstheater Braunschweig, and Berliner Ensemble. Diana was also the founder and artistic director of the Breakout Ensemble in Munich. She has been invited to international festivals in the United States, Mexico, Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Spain and Latvia, among others. She has worked as a composer and singer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hamburg Staatsoper, VocalEssence, the Babylon Orchestra of Berlin, the Trio D'Argent, the Akademie August Everding, the Secession Orchestra in Paris, and the theater company Les Chambres aux Echos. Diana was a member of the jury for the Carmen Mateu Opera Prize (Spain) and in 2022 she was invited as a guest artist and lecturer at the Juilliard School in New York, where she worked with students and performed as a soloist at Lincoln Center. She was also a member of the Akademie Musiktheater heute and the Academie d´Aix en Provence (ENOA).

 

Among her awards and recognitions, she has won the Music Prize of the City of Munich (Musikpreis der Landeshaupstadt München), the Counterpoint of Tolerance Project of Los Angeles (USA), and the FONCA scholarship for study abroad (Mexico). She was also selected for residencies at the Banff Centre in Canada (supported by FONCA), the residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and the residency at the Deutsches Zentrum in Venice supported by the German Ministry of Culture. Since 2021 she is an artist represented by Ricordi thanks to being a winner of the Ricordilab program.

 

Diana Syrse studied voice and composition at the Faculty of Music of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), a master's degree in composer-performer at the California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS) in the United States, a second master's degree at the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre in Munich, Germany, and a PhD at the University of Birmingham (UK) with Daria Kwiatkowska and Scott Wilson. Between her composition teacher are: Gabriela Ortiz, Moritz Eggert, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Don Freund, Marc Loweinstein; and her voice teachers have included Edith Contreras, Carlos Montane and Jacqueline Bobak. She has taken master classes with Pascal Dusapin, Bryan Fernyhough, George Lewis and David Rosenboom. 

 

Samuel Zyman

Samuel Zyman, a long-time New York-based Professor of Music Theory and Analysis at the Juilliard School, is acknowledged as one of the leading Mexican composers on the international scene today. Zyman’s music is characterized by intense and vigorous rhythmic energy, expressive lyricism, and the frequent use of near-jazzy imitative counterpoint. His musical language often displays both his Mexican and his Jewish heritage. Zyman’s best known composition is his Sonata for Flute and Piano No. 1, a work that has entered the standard repertoire. Zyman’s sonata is frequently performed all over the world and has been commercially recorded and posted on Youtube numerous times. The sonata is often included in graduation recital programs and has been used as a recommended or required piece at national and international flute competitions and as a topic for doctoral dissertations. Another popular Zyman piece is his orchestral work Encuentros, a colorful and highly rhythmic Mexican-sounding piece. As of June 2019, Zyman’s catalogue lists 70 works in a wide variety of genres. He has written at least 24 chamber works (including a string quartet and three piano trios), 11 concertos, seven pieces for orchestra (including two symphonies and an ambitious concerto for orchestra), six pieces for solo piano, three works for solo guitar, two works for symphonic band, one film score, a piece for trombone octet, music for chorus and orchestra, for solo voice with orchestra, for solo voice with piano or guitar accompaniment, and much more.

 

In January of 2016, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto premiered Zyman’s 30-minute work An Ode to Music (Canto a la Música), for two solo cellos, youth chorus, and youth orchestra, in the Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, with the National Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Music Director Julio Saldaña, a work that highlights and celebrates the involvement of young people in Mexico in the performance of classical music and the significance of music for all people. Esperanza Azteca is a nationwide system that has created 62 symphony orchestras and choruses that benefit about 12,000 youngsters and children from disadvantaged social strata in all corners of Mexico. One of the movements of Zyman’s An Ode to Music, Basta Escuchar (You Just Need to Listen), scored for a cappella chorus, has since become the hymn of the entire Esperanza Azteca system, and it is sung by all members of Esperanza Azteca, singers and instrumentalists alike, at the beginning of each of their concerts.

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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Kathryn Lieppman

Pianist Kathryn Christensen Lieppman is sought after as both solo performer and chamber musician. Having recently relocated to Arizona from Boston, her New England performances included the North Shore Chamber Music Series, Newton Public Library, “Bach’s Lunch” at Indian Hill Music School, and Concord Conservatory of Music’s Concert and Lecture series. The Sierra Vista Herald declared of her Rachmaninoff Concerto #2 performance, “She truly deserved to have the final bow for that evening’s concert...The gracefulness of Christensen was a joy to see, as the composer’s notes took control of her as she fingered them on the keyboard. Lightly when needed, powerful when appropriate.” As a collaborator, Kathryn has toured internationally with the Phoenix Girls Chorus & Tucson Girls Chorus, and collaborated with the Paradise Winds, among many others. Currently she works with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus as well as the Tucson Girls Chorus.

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A musician and educator with diverse interests, Kathryn has many years of piano studio teaching experience, has co-founded a chorus in the Boston area for adults with special needs (“Music Makes Me Happy Chorus”), and also co-founded an early childhood music program with her sister (“Clap for Classics”). She teaches

live early childhood music classes, and is working on an album of original children's songs.

Ms. Lieppman received a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Arizona where she studied with Tannis Gibson and Rex Woods. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Rice University where she studied with Brian Connelly. She has enjoyed participating in summer festivals across the United States including Aspen, SongFest, Tanglewood, and New England Conservatory's Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. Ms. Lieppman spent summer 2010 on staff as a collaborative pianist at Interlochen Center for the Arts. She has played in master

classes for esteemed artists and teachers including John Parry, Barbara Nissman, Anne-Marie McDermott and Ralph Votapek. 

 

Devoted to the performance of new music, Ms. Lieppman has premiered many solo and chamber works, including a set of “Desert Miniatures” written for her by five Tucson-connected composers. In 2009, she won both the Green Valley Piano Competition and Arizona MTNA Young Artist Competition, playing largely 20th century repertoire. 

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Julia Barnett

Admired for her rich tone and fluid technique throughout the instrument’s range, flutist Julia Barnett is an active performer and teacher in Southern California. As a soloist she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the UCLA Symphony.  She has performed with chamber ensembles such as the LA Grand Ensemble, Lizulia Duo, the Coastal Winds, Les Flutes des Salon flute quartet, Connessa Collective, and is a member of Duo Flautas Frescas. Her orchestral ensemble work has included the San Diego Symphony, LA Dream Orchestra, and the La Grange Symphony. She was a member of the Midland/Odessa Symphony and Chorale as well as Billings Symphony for 8 years. She will be joining the Hawaii Symphony as 2nd flute/Associate Principal for the 2024-2025 season. In addition to her performing career, Dr. Barnett enjoys directing the Avanti Flute Choir, a performing flute choir composed of amateur through professional musicians. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in flute performance at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she studied with Sheridon Stokes. For her Master of Music, Dr. Barnett studied with Christina Jennings at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and attended Rice University for her Bachelors Degree under the tutelage of Leone Buyse.

She was a finalist in the 2020 (Instrumental Soloist Category) and winner in the 2021 (Chamber Music Category) American Prize Competition, a two-time finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, as well as prize winner in the 2021 Maverick Flute Competition, the San Diego Young Artist Gold Competition, Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego, San Diego Symphony Concerto Competition, the La Jolla Symphony Young Artist Competition, and was named an Elaine Krown Klein Scholar at UCLA. Dr. Barnett also won scholarships to attend the Brevard Music Festival, as well as the Pierre Monteux School of Orchestra and Conducting.

 

Dr. Barnett's interest in new music led to the commission and premiere of Jacob Barton's ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! ¡AY! in 2006, a work for flute, percussion and kalimba, based upon Mexican folk songs. She has premiered numerous new works in ensembles and as a soloist, a beloved performance was in February of 2016 with the Los Angeles premiere of John Steinmetz's Whispers for flute, bassoon, and piano. Her desire to share a variety of cultures with her audiences resulted in the world premiere of Panagiotis Theodossiou’s “The Passage,” based upon a Greek play, which used alto flute, viola, and piano to explore the different scenes of the play. She was thrilled to be a part of the Flute New Music Consortium’s Commission Project with Samuel Zyman, and was delighted to perform a world premiere in 2022 of Intuition for two flutes with her duo partner Dr. Alina Windell. Most Recently, she and Dr. Alina Windell performed the world premiere of their commission by Daniel Dorff, Perfect Storm for flute, piccolo, and piano in Atlanta, Georgia in April of 2023. 

Additionally, as part of Duo Flautas Frescas, she is organizing a consortium of a work for 2 C flutes and piano by Elizabeth Brown to be premiered in the Spring of 2025. 

 

Dr. Barnett also has a passionate interest in both studying and performing classical flute music by Mexican composers. Her doctoral dissertation, "Performing Practice in Roberto Peña's Concierto para Flauta y Orquesta: Discovering Mexico's Contemporary Classical Flute Music," focuses on the works of Roberto Peña, a flutist and composer from Chiapas, Mexico whose works for flute are a wonderful addition to the flute repertoire. She plans on recording an album of works by Contemporary Mexican composers with her dear friend and pianist Kathryn Lieppman.