(b. 1976 San José, Costa Rica)
composer, songwriter and performer
My music has been performed in various cities including Moscow, New York, Boston and Cambridge (UK) among others. After finishing a master's in composition at Boston University with Lukas Foss and Richard Cornell I spent 3 years composing and researching independently in Hungary, The Netherlands and England. While doing so, my String Quartet No.1 was awarded first prize at the Pablo Sorozabal Composition Competition 2005 which led to its premiere by the Iturriaga Quartet at the opening concert of the Quincena Musical 2006 in San Sebastián, Spain (read review). Also in 2005, my piece for harpsichord and drum-set won first prize at the Budapest Clavicembalo Foundation Competition and was performed at a live broadcast from the Hungarian National Radio studios. During this time I did a two-week residency at the Steim Labs in Amsterdam and attended the International Sonology Course at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
Recent and upcoming commitments include a new piece for the Hungarian virtuoso group Trio Lignum a commission by the New York-based Ikarus Chamber Players and for which I have received a grant from the PRS Foundation / Bliss Trust for its premiere (listen) in October 2008. A new version of this same piece was performed by the Tres Americas Ensemble at the Galapagos Art Space in New York in January 2009.
I am cofounder, as well as performer and composer of If Version Linger, a new bandensemble working in North England, and a member of Bling This Story, a Manchester-based electroacoustic improvisation ensemble. I am also a founding member of altaVoz Composers Ensemble, a group of Latin-American composers. Currently, I am working towards a practice-based research PhD in composition at the Novars Research Centre for Electroacoustic Composition, Performance and Sound Art and I teach at the Royal Northern College of Music's new Popular Music course.
Visit: http://mauriciopauly.com