Sadiel Cuentas

Sadiel Cuentas is a Peruvian composer born in Lima, Peru, in September 1973. After finishing high school in 1990, he played electric guitar in several rock groups for 5 years and took private music lessons. He was admitted into Peru’s National Conservatory in August 1995, and studied composition with Enrique Iturriaga and Dante Valdez. His music has been played in several local concerts since 1999. In October 2001 his first orchestral composition was premiered by the National Conservatory’s Symphonic Orchestra. His Clarinet Concerto was awarded an Honorary Mention at the 2006 National Conservatory’s Music Composition Contest. His composition “Via della Croce”, with text of peruvian poet Jorge Eduardo Eielson, was awarded an Honorary Mention at the 2007 National Conservatory’s Choral Music Contest. His composition “Cadenza, Introducción y Allegro” was awarded the Third Price at the 2008 Premio Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia music composition contest. He has attended master classes and lectures by the compososers Antón García Abril, Leonardo Balada, Celso Garrido Lecca, Aurelio Tello, Timo-juhani Kyllönen, Edgar Valcárcel, Manuel de Elías y Luca Belcastro. In 2008 he was a member of the production crew of the documentary “Discovering Enrique Iturriaga”, produced by Spain’s Cultural Center and the Peruvian Composition Circle (Circomper). In 2009 he wrote a series of musical analysis for the book “Music and Time of César Bolaños”, published by Spain’s Cultural Center. He is the creator and administrator of Circomper’s weblog since 2005. He’s a founder member of Circomper and the Free Improvisation Ensamble LiPiBRePE. Sadiel Cuentas currently leads the Intrumental Music Program at the Villa María High School in Lima, Perú.