Music available at www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_bio.html

Alberto Almarza, flute
Luz Manríquez, piano

Malagigi the Sorcerer (1999) is a piece that develops from the romanticism of mythical stories. This one in particular comes from the legends of Charlemagne (1). Rinaldo, nephew of Charlemagne and appointed knight by the Emperor "eager to go in pursuit of glory .... took the way to the forest of Arden". He is soon enough informed by an old man (Malagigi in disguise) of an untamable horse, Bayard, that lives in the Arden forest and which "had been held under enchantment by the power of a magician (Malagigi himself), who predicted that, when the time came to break the spell, it should be subdued by a knight of the lineage of Amadís of Gaul (his former owner), and not less brave than he." Rinaldo eventually succeeds, after a mortal combat with Bayard, in proving himself worthy of such magnificent legacy.

The first movement, The Enchantment, focuses on the spell itself. It has two main sections of which the first evokes the actual moment when Malagigi while in trance, calling upon his magic, casts the spell on Bayard. The second section is a fugue and depicts the struggle of Bayard's will against Malagigi's spell. Bayard then succumbs to the enchantment in a peaceful manner. The second movement, Arden Forest, has three main sections. It opens with a flute cadenza depicting the environment in the forest, mainly birdcalls. There is a transition to a faster and exasperated second section where the flute depicts the inner feelings of the horse, such as being trapped forever in the forest. The flute cadenza becomes more agitated until the piano joins the flute in a climax, which will rebuild again to a second and more dramatic climax. After this outburst of anguish and frustration the second section will evolve into the third section where the wisdom of the forest takes over Bayard, giving the horse the serenity and peace so much sought after. The third movement, called Bayard, depicts the confrontation and fight between Rinaldo and the horse in which Rinaldo overpowers the horse, winning its liberty and loyalty.

Efraín Amaya
(1) Legends of Charlemagne. The Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology. Macmillan. USA. Eddison Sadd Editions1997.

Malagigi the Sorcerer - I The Enchantment

Music available at www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_bio.html

Renaissance City Winds <http://rcwinds.org>
& David Premo, cello

Aguaclara is a piece that developed as I was dwelling in my memories of clear waters by a sunny beach- Perhaps one of those suspended fragments in time when we are one with nature and the world is friendly. The music addresses that transparency and youthful joy.

This is the second piece I wrote after Jim Whipple and I received our three-year Grant through Meet The Composer, Inc. in November of 2001. Renaissance City Winds as one of the partners in this Grant asked me to write a piece for them to premiere in their 2001-2002 Season. 

The idea of writing for this particular combination, woodwind quintet plus cello, was very appealing and new. So I started looking for a sonority that would be fresh and colorful. A little bit like the ocean by the coral reefs. Aguaclara is in one movement and it's about six and a half minutes long.

Efraín Amaya

Photo by: http://www.adventuresofagoodman.com/about/

"Aguaclara" for woodwind quintet & cello by Efraín Amaya

Music available at 
http://lafipublishers.com/notes/angelica.html
http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_bio.html

The Sewickley BACHfest Orchestra
Led by violinist Sarah O'Boyle
Première performance

Angelica came about a year after I had written Malagigi the Sorcerer (for flute and piano). It is a little bit of a sequel. Malagigi the Sorcerer was written for flutist Alberto Almarza with the intention of exploring the colors and traditions of the flute, and it was based on a short story from the legends of Charlemagne. Angelica was written later and motivated by an enthusiastic request from violinist Sarah O'Boyle, Alberto's wife at the time, who was to lead the premiere as concertmaster of the Sewickley BACHfest, who commissioned the work in 2000. It made sense to dwell on and be inspired by a continuation of the same theme.

The story is about love displaced in time. Angelica and Rinaldo (nephew and appointed knight of Charlemagne) meet amidst a celebration and a jousting tournament. She arrives with her brother and without good intentions. Her extraordinary beauty captivates everyone. Rinaldo falls in love but she pays no attention. There is then a chase through the Arden forest where their affections get reversed.

"Now in this forest there were two fountains, the one constructed by the sage Merlin, who designed it for Tristram and the fair Isoude;* for such was the virtue of this fountain, that a draught of its waters produced an oblivion of the love which the drinker might feel, and even produced aversion for the object formerly beloved. The other fountain was endowed with exactly opposite qualities, and a draught of it inspired love for the first living object that was seen after tasting it."(1)

Exhausted from the chase Rinaldo drinks from the first-mentioned fountain and falls asleep. Angelica comes across the other fountain and drinks from it. She then encounters the sleeping Rinaldo and falls instantly in love. So the story goes and of course the chase is now reversed. Angelica will try anything to win the affection of Rinaldo who keeps running away from her.

Angelica has four main sections: A-B-C-A'. The A section depicts the jousting and the festivities through the syncopations and hemiolas of Latin American music, and the characteristic rhythms of dance forms such as salsa. The B section is a fugato, inspired by the use of counterpoint in Venezuelan folk music. It describes the chase for love through the forest. The C section is a slow and more introverted passage. A simple melody presented in the violins is then repeated with the cellos playing it canonically. The violins and cellos represent Angelica and Rinaldo in their out of sync love for each other. The last section is very much like the first one, but every time it repeats, a layer of complexity is added to it. As in love, it completes a cycle and expands into higher levels of intricacy.

Efraín Amaya
(1) Legends of Charlemagne. The Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology. Macmillan. USA. Eddison Sadd Editions1997.

Instrumentation: String orchestra. Also vesions for string quintet & string quartet.
Duration: ca. 6:30

"Angelica" for Strings by Efraín Amaya

Pennsylvania Dance Theater 
http://www.pdtdance.org/
Presents Xanadu
Choreography: Mark Taylor
Dancers: Jill Brighton, Moira Fogarty, Tina Konrath, André Koslowski
Costume Design: Myra Bullington
Music Composition: Four Xanadu by Efraín Amaya
http://www.efrainamaya.com/
https://www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

To watch the choreography follow this link:
http://youtu.be/hyRRaph6xOs

Music available at:
http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_Chamber.html

Performed by: The Point Chamber Orchestra String Quartet
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Point-Chamber-Orchestra/118630108221104?ref=hl
Vln1: Anne Jackovic
Vln2: Ashley Buckley
Vla: JJ Johnson
Vc: Simon Cummings

"Four Xanadu" (String Quartet No. 2) by Efraín Amaya

Alberto Almarza, flute & the Arianna String Quartet http://www.ariannaquartet.com/
Music available at: http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_Chamber.html

In Venezuela, I grew up with the invisible presence of María Lionza, the daughter of a native Indian chief, something to do with a legend, something to do with a queen, or something magic. This piece, El Sentir de María Lionza (The Sentiment of María Lionza), comes to be as a reflective response to the socio-political crisis that invades my native country at this time. This is a time of unrest as it was the time of the Spanish Conquest, when this legend takes place. This is also the latest piece I have written for my friends and colleagues Alberto Almarza and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. It consists of three movements, El Mensajero,El Río, and Pieles de Metal. The first and second movements are connected with no break in between.

El Mensajero (The Messenger), refers to the story of the Jirjana people who received a warning: a girl with green eyes would be born and her eyes would be a signal of bad times to come, and if she ever saw her own reflection on a nearby lake, a monstrous giant snake would come out of her to bring death and destruction. Under this prophecy, and just before the Spanish Conquest, a girl with green eyes was born in the village. She was to be sacrificed to the Great Anaconda snake. However, her powerful father saves her and sends her to a secret place where she grows up under the care of twenty-two guardians. They also had to prevent her from reaching the water at the lake.

In the various metaphorical messages, I introduce a birdcall from one of our indigenous birds, the Cristofué, thus named for the rhythmical similarity of its song to the spoken words of "Cristo fué" ("Christ was" in Spanish). With the Spanish invaders came a new Faith. This bird is known in America as the Great Kiskadee. This name is derived again form its call which sounds very much like French for "What is it saying?" ..."Quest-ce-que dit". Click here to hear its song: http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/LNBKSKKLXO/GreatKiskadee20051216s23.mp3

In the movement El Río (The River), I refer mainly to the realm of waters, like the doorways to other spheres or the underworld. In the story, María Lionza manages to escape the vigilant guards, runs out into the country and finds a beautiful lake, with fascination sees her own reflection in the water. At that instant she becomes the giant snake, overflowing the waters and bringing floods and destruction.

In Pieles de Metal (Metal Skins), I wanted to depict the confrontation of two worlds, the Venezuelan indigenous people and the Spanish conquerors. A confrontation that would change both cultures forever.

Multiple versions of María Lionza's legend exist, but nothing speaks of Venezuelan magical spirituality stronger than this popular myth. In a way she represents the unifying element in the different races that blended in the country. Her image fluctuates between that of a Native Indian princess to a more European queen, a queen Mary, the great Mother of God.

Efraín Amaya
For more about María Lionza visit this site:
A Girardian reading of the myth of Maria Lionza:
http://www.anthrobase.com/Txt/A/Andrade_G_E_01.htm

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbconsci/361562216/

"El Sentir de María Lionza" III-Metal Skin (Flute & String Quartet)

Alberto Almarza, flute & the Arianna String Quartet http://www.ariannaquartet.com/
Music available at: http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_Chamber.html

In Venezuela, I grew up with the invisible presence of María Lionza, the daughter of a native Indian chief, something to do with a legend, something to do with a queen, or something magic. This piece, El Sentir de María Lionza (The Sentiment of María Lionza), comes to be as a reflective response to the socio-political crisis that invades my native country at this time. This is a time of unrest as it was the time of the Spanish Conquest, when this legend takes place. This is also the latest piece I have written for my friends and colleagues Alberto Almarza and the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. It consists of three movements, El Mensajero,El Río, and Pieles de Metal. The first and second movements are connected with no break in between.

El Mensajero (The Messenger), refers to the story of the Jirjana people who received a warning: a girl with green eyes would be born and her eyes would be a signal of bad times to come, and if she ever saw her own reflection on a nearby lake, a monstrous giant snake would come out of her to bring death and destruction. Under this prophecy, and just before the Spanish Conquest, a girl with green eyes was born in the village. She was to be sacrificed to the Great Anaconda snake. However, her powerful father saves her and sends her to a secret place where she grows up under the care of twenty-two guardians. They also had to prevent her from reaching the water at the lake.

In the various metaphorical messages, I introduce a birdcall from one of our indigenous birds, the Cristofué, thus named for the rhythmical similarity of its song to the spoken words of "Cristo fué" ("Christ was" in Spanish). With the Spanish invaders came a new Faith. This bird is known in America as the Great Kiskadee. This name is derived again form its call which sounds very much like French for "What is it saying?" ..."Quest-ce-que dit". Click here to hear its song: http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/LNBKSKKLXO/GreatKiskadee20051216s23.mp3

In the movement El Río (The River), I refer mainly to the realm of waters, like the doorways to other spheres or the underworld. In the story, María Lionza manages to escape the vigilant guards, runs out into the country and finds a beautiful lake, with fascination sees her own reflection in the water. At that instant she becomes the giant snake, overflowing the waters and bringing floods and destruction.

In Pieles de Metal (Metal Skins), I wanted to depict the confrontation of two worlds, the Venezuelan indigenous people and the Spanish conquerors. A confrontation that would change both cultures forever.

Multiple versions of María Lionza's legend exist, but nothing speaks of Venezuelan magical spirituality stronger than this popular myth. In a way she represents the unifying element in the different races that blended in the country. Her image fluctuates between that of a Native Indian princess to a more European queen, a queen Mary, the great Mother of God.

Efraín Amaya
For more about María Lionza visit this site:
A Girardian reading of the myth of Maria Lionza:
http://www.anthrobase.com/Txt/A/Andrade_G_E_01.htm

Photo: http://brrrdwatcher.blogspot.com/2012/06/great-kiskadee.html

"El Sentir de María Lionza" I-II The Messanger -The River(Flute & String Quartet)

Un Camino (cello concerto) by Efraín Amaya
Premiere Performance
August 3, 2013
Kim Cook, cello
State College Summer Orchestra
Matthew Sheppard, founder & conductor

www.efrainamaya.com/
www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

Un Camino
When Kim Cook approached me to write a cello concerto for her, I felt as if it was the right moment since I had been wanting to write one for a while. Needless to say I felt very honored and excited to have Ms. Cook, who is a world-class cellist, entrust me with this commission.
At first I was considering a few different directions for this piece, but she had expressed how much she liked it when I include Latin American rhythms in my work, so I kept this in mind when I started to write the concerto. Coincidentally, at the time I had been very concerned with the socio political turmoil that surrounds my country of birth, Venezuela. Its fate and the fight of the people were in the forefront of my thoughts. I saw this piece as a wonderful opportunity to give voice to this historical struggle. "Hay un Camino" ("There is a path" or "There is a Way") was the catchphrase of the opposition in Venezuela to a regime that, under the banner of democracy had become totalitarian and lawless. However, I named my piece "Un Camino" ("A Path") hoping that all Venezuelans realize that they, as a nation, need to unite and create their own way, without foreign intervention or ideologies, without losing sight of who they are, and what they need to do to heal their country. I realize this is not an isolated case, as we have seen and continue to see power struggles intertwined with rampant corruption all over the world, while our most inner desire is one of peace and justice.
The piece doesn't follow the typical sonata form, however one hears recurring themes and sections reminiscing an exposition, development and recapitulation. The piece is roughly divided into: A- B - C - B'- C'- A'- cadenza - coda. The A part is a slow introverted passage where the cello's theme evokes the sound of a human voice, an inner call to action for every individual. The orchestra answers with a tutti using the same material but in a very extroverted manner. The B part is a rhythmical section where the thematic material of part A is transformed and distorted, creating a very dynamic and driven section which grows when the orchestra joins the cello. This leads to section C, which is a dance. I should mention that in this section I used melodically a small fraction of the Venezuelan national anthem, specifically when it says "¡Abajo cadenas! Gritaba el Señor;" (Down with the chains! Cried out the Lord) but it is set in a completely different harmonic and rhythmical context from the original. This will lead to B', the quasi Development of the piece, where the material of the part B is expanded leading into the dance material of the next section, C'. The cello winds down and mellows the orchestra into A' which is similar to A, but in a different key, the phrases also have different lengths. In the cadenza I use another part of the melody of the Venezuelan national anthem "bravo pueblo que el yugo lanzó.." (Brave people who shook off the yoke). This time in the same haunting manner as in the opening section A. The cello will evoke the dance material and with the orchestra joining the cello, the piece comes to an end.
Efraín Amaya 2013

"Un Camino" (Cello Concerto) by Efraín Amaya

"Indigo Concerto" I - Moderato by Efraín Amaya. 
Performed live by Alberto Almarza, flute & The Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble Music Director & Conductor Efraín Amaya. 
http://www.cmufluteforum.com/faculty-and-staff/alberto-almarza/
http://www.efrainamaya.com/
https://www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

Music available at:
http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_bio.html

Indigo Concerto came about as a shared search for new levels in the complex and global language of contemporary music. My two previous pieces for flute and piano (Dúo Ami and Malagigi the Sorcerer) - both written for Alberto Almarza - resulted in a series of exciting and successful presentations. Alberto's unique gifts for the flute and his virtuoso abilities, especially in the use of extended techniques, brought those to life and infused in them a maturity and a full-blown expression of color and emotion. Once again, Alberto asked me to write a flute concerto for him; thus was Indigo Concerto created.

In this piece, many sounds and rhythms from my past come into play freely and openly. These include joropo, salsa and the Venezuelan merengue, which appear intermixed as short occurrences in the context of the piece. Extended techniques for the flute, such as circular breathing and whistle tones, are included as an intrinsic part of the music.

The concerto has three movements. The first movement follows a somewhat standard sonata form (exposition, development, recapitulation, and cadenza). A third theme appears before the development, but this theme appears again only in the cadenza and at the end of the last movement.

The second and third movements are played without a break, and both are connected thematically to the first movement. The context of how the material appears is starkly different in each, however-the second movement is slow and introverted; the third is dance-like.

Indigo is a full-bodied dark blue color. Its versatility when mixed with other colors gives it the potential for a vast variety of subtle transitions and radiations. Its warmth allows us to reach inner senses of perception.

Efraín Amaya

Instrumentation: *1/*2/*2/2 - 2/1/0/0 - 3 perc. - piano - flute solo - str
There is also a flute solo and wind ensemble version.
Duration: ca. 22:30

"Indigo Concerto" I-Moderato (flute concerto) by Efraín Amaya

"Indigo Concerto" II-III Lento-Dance by Efraín Amaya. 
Performed live by Alberto Almarza, flute & The Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble Music Director & Conductor Efraín Amaya. 
www.cmufluteforum.com/faculty-and-st…berto-almarza/
www.efrainamaya.com/
https://www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

Music available at:
www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_bio.html
Score:
http://issuu.com/lafipublishers/docs/indigoconcerto?e=15517616/11382829

Indigo Concerto came about as a shared search for new levels in the complex and global language of contemporary music. My two previous pieces for flute and piano (Dúo Ami and Malagigi the Sorcerer) - both written for Alberto Almarza - resulted in a series of exciting and successful presentations. Alberto's unique gifts for the flute and his virtuoso abilities, especially in the use of extended techniques, brought those to life and infused in them a maturity and a full-blown expression of color and emotion. Once again, Alberto asked me to write a flute concerto for him; thus was Indigo Concerto created.

In this piece, many sounds and rhythms from my past come into play freely and openly. These include joropo, salsa and the Venezuelan merengue, which appear intermixed as short occurrences in the context of the piece. Extended techniques for the flute, such as circular breathing and whistle tones, are included as an intrinsic part of the music.

The concerto has three movements. The first movement follows a somewhat standard sonata form (exposition, development, recapitulation, and cadenza). A third theme appears before the development, but this theme appears again only in the cadenza and at the end of the last movement.

The second and third movements are played without a break, and both are connected thematically to the first movement. The context of how the material appears is starkly different in each, however-the second movement is slow and introverted; the third is dance-like.

Indigo is a full-bodied dark blue color. Its versatility when mixed with other colors gives it the potential for a vast variety of subtle transitions and radiations. Its warmth allows us to reach inner senses of perception.

Efraín Amaya

Instrumentation: *1/*2/*2/2 - 2/1/0/0 - 3 perc. - piano - flute solo - str
There is also a flute solo and wind ensemble version.
Duration: ca. 22:30

"Indigo Concerto" II-III Lento-Dance (flute concerto) by Efraín Amaya

Music available at:
http://lafipublishers.com/notes/fuzz.html

Fuzz was commissioned by Tanner Film & Art (www.tannerfilmandart.com) to honor Dr. Debra T. Abell's memory of her father, James Tanner. Mr. Tanner was a talented jazz musician from Philadelphia. He was a vivacious trumpet player, whose nickname “Fuzz” came from his characteristic sound while playing the trumpet, a fuzzy sound.

One of the major chapters of his life occurred as a black American GI stationed in post war Germany in the early 1950s, where he played jazz for four years with the US military band. For a black jazz musician in that time period, Europe represented a land of creative opportunities and a newfound freedom, away from the overwhelming prejudices experienced in the US. He remembered those years as the best years of his life. It is then and there where he met his love and future wife, Irmgard Achatz, a German girl excited to embrace a new country and a new life. They moved to the United States where they settled and had two children, one of them is Debra. She has kept his memory alive, as well as the memory of a childhood defined by challenges, transcultural experiences and the remnants of a war that didn't want to be forgotten. Throughout the difficulties, Fuzz remained a model of enthusiasm and happiness. Unfortunately, the loss of his life was accompanied by the loss of all his arranged works and compositions. Debra's wish is to keep her father's voice alive through this commission.

Fuzz was written for solo trumpet and strings. It has four sections: A-B-C-A'. Section A presents an introspective and slow atmosphere, where the trumpet is a little suffocated, not very clear, similar to a voice that emerges from the past. It continues with section B, showing jazz elements that interact with the strings, creating a more defined and actual presence. Section C is based on Salsa rhythms and a festive mood, merging a celebration of his life and his love of music. Finally, the last section takes us again to a nostalgic and interior moment, to that space in memory where loved ones, long gone, remain a little fuzzy but intensely present.

            Susana Amundaraín

Instrumentation: Trumpet and string orchestra (trumpet & piano).
There is also an oboe and string orchestra version (oboe & piano).
Duration: ca. 7:30

"Fuzz" for trumpet & strings (piano midi)

BirdHouse was commissioned and performed as part of Ornithology, a performance by installation and performing artist Michael Pestel (www.michaelpestel.com/) with the Carnegie Mellon University flute ensemble at Pittsburgh Aviary, PA in April 2000.

I was very delighted when Michael approached me about writing a piece to be played at the aviary. I knew right away that I needed to go down there and experience the room where the performance would take place. Once in the aviary, the birds that made the strongest impression were the flamingos. Their call was so unexpectedly strange; it sounded more like a bark than an actual birdcall. The other characteristic of the call was its quasi tritone quality. While writing the piece, this interval became a light motif throughout the work, a kind of glue element. There is also a lot of canonic and imitation writing throughout the piece. Through close imitations and follow the leader gestures, I wanted to create with sound what happens within a flock of flying birds. In other words, a mass of sound that changes little by little creating that ever-changing mass that one sees while they fly.

I also decided to quote myself since I had not long ago written "Malagigi the Sorcerer" https://soundcloud.com/efrainamaya/sets/malagigi-the-sorcerer/ for Alberto Almarza who was in charge of the flute ensemble and who is also a devoted bird watcher. The second movement of Malagigi starts with the depiction of a forest through a flute cadenza imitating birdcalls. I used the same material to create a cacophony of "birdcalls". I'd like to share a story of what happened when we premiered the piece at the aviary. I certainly got my cacophony of birdcalls. When we started playing all the other birds joined us making a tremendous ruckus, but the most amazing thing was to watch the piccolo players being attacked by small black birds, which kept diving on their heads as they performed. God only knows what they thought we were doing.
Efraín Amaya

Instrumentation: 2 piccolos, 4 flutes, 2 alto flutes, 1 bass flute.
Duration: ca. 11:30

"Bird House" Flute nonet (Aviary premiere performance)

Documentary chronicling the work of ship breakers in Alang, India and Brownsville, Texas.
http://youtu.be/aCGq5qQHXSY

http://shipbreakersthefilm.com/

Documentary by Paul S. Goodman
& Ralph Vituccio 
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/site/people/faculty-record?fid=rv0a
Tom Clancey, Cinematographer
http://www.tomclancey.com/
Music by Efraín Amaya
(ASCAP)
http://www.efrainamaya.com
http://www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

Music Publishers:
www.lafipublishers.com

Shipbreakers Track 7

Documentary chronicling the work of ship breakers in Alang, India and Brownsville, Texas.
http://youtu.be/aCGq5qQHXSY
http://shipbreakersthefilm.com/

Documentary by Paul S. Goodman
& Ralph Vituccio 
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/site/people/faculty-record?fid=rv0a
Tom Clancey, Cinematographer
http://www.tomclancey.com/
Music by Efraín Amaya
(ASCAP)
http://www.efrainamaya.com
http://www.facebook.com/efrainamaya.musician

Music Publishers:
www.lafipublishers.com

Shipbreakers Track 5 (prayers)

Shipbreakers Track 3

Shipbreakers Track 1 (Opening)

Shipbreakers Track 6

Maid of Blue (Soledad y el mar) 1988

Score available at:
http://lafipublishers.com/notes/soledad.html
http://lafipublishers.com/Amaya_Orchestra.html

"Soledad y el Mar" was conceived to be a part of a ballet inspired by the novel "Il mare dietro la collina" by Barbara Mastella. The piece is about a woman (Soledad) who lives by the ocean. Soledad believes, from an early age, that she is the "guardian of the sea". This piece depicts the time when the relationship between Soledad and the sea gets established.

The music describes three main events. In the first section, we hear the sea calling Soledad (English horn solo). She follows the call until she finds herself standing on the beach, facing the water. The second part starts when she dives into the sea just to be overwhelmed by the power of the waves. As she begins to drown, she invokes her inner peace (Soledad's theme) in order to tame the wild waters. Once tamed, the third section begins with Soledad's theme presented peacefully by a solo violin. The ocean then joins in and builds up, using Soledad's theme as its own, to an orchestral climax. It concludes with a calm ending as Soledad and the ocean make peace.

Instrumentation: *3/*3/*4/*3 - 4/3/3/1 - tmp+5 - hp -pf/cel - str
Duration: ca. 9:10

Photo: Susana Amundaraín

Maid of Blue (Soledad y el mar) for orchestra

"Fuzz" for Oboe & Piano by Efraín Amaya (midi)

Music available at http://www.lafipublishers.com/Amaya_Chamber.html

"Recuerdos" for solo viola performed here live by my good friend, Venezuelan violist and pedagogue César Suárez. 
There is a violin solo version as well.

Winning piece to the Student Composition Contest 1983-1984 sponsored by the Dean of Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. This piece was dedicated to my friend Scott Rawls.

"Recuerdos" for solo viola (1983)

American conductor and composer Efraín Amaya was born in Venezuela, where he began his musical training. Continuing his studies in the United States, he earned two Bachelor’s of music degrees in composition and piano from Indiana University, and a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Rice University.
As a guest conductor Mr. Amaya has appeared with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, the Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas, the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar del Táchira, the Jóvenes Arcos de Venezuela, the Sinfónica de Maracaibo, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tucumán (Argentina), the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Veracruz (Mexico), the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, the McKeesport Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Symphony Orchestra, the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, the SOS Venezuelan Concerts Symphony Orchestra and several youth symphonies.
Maestro Amaya founded and was the Music Director of the Point Chamber Orchestra, which made its debut performance during the summer of 2006 with a tour of seven concerts in Italy. The Point Chamber Orchestra made a commercial CD released in 2009 with Albany Records label. It featured two of Mr. Amaya’s chamber operas: Clepsydra: An Operatic Installation with 13 Performers and Phantasmagorilla? No! Phantasmagoria, receiving excellent reviews by Pittsburgh, the American Record Guide and Fanfare.
Mr. Amaya's compositions have been selected for performance at major international festivals, including the Seattle Symphony's Viva la Música Festival; the V Congreso Iberoamericano de Llíria, Spain, the Festival de Música de Santa Catarina in Brazil, the American Composers Orchestra Festival of Venezuelan Music at Weill Recital Hall in New York; the II Congreso Puertorriqueño de Creación Musical in San Juan among many others. In 2004, Efraín Amaya received a Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He was also a Meet The Composer Composer-in-Residence with Gateway to the Arts, WQED-FM, Renaissance City Wind Music Society and Shaler School District from September of 2001 to September 2004. His opera Clepsydra premiered as part of the First Night celebrations in Pittsburgh as a collaborative multimedia performance for tape, live performers, and edited video projection, sponsored by the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and the Heinz Endowment.
His cello concerto Un Camino, commissioned by renowned cellist Kim Cook with a grant from the Pennsylvania Arts Council, premiered in August of 2013. Other recent works include Archipiélagos for Eb clarinet and piano, commissioned by Venezuelan virtuoso clarinetist Jorge Montilla; Irmgard's Mementos, a three movement piano solo work commissioned by Tanner Film and Art; Chocolat for solo bassoon commissioned and premiered by Jim R. Whipple; Marahuaka, a concerto for 3 marimbas and Wind Symphony Orchestra and Epona’s Portal, a concerto for bassoon and Wind Symphony Orchestra both commissioned by Robert Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. His two act opera La Bisbetica, commissioned and performed by International Opera Theater was premiered in August of 2010 in Italy; it was then invited to participate in the Bergamo International Festival of 2011 at Bergamo, Italy.
Mr. Amaya was invited and completed a residency at Yaddo, NY, during the summer of 2012 where he worked on his latest chamber opera Constellations, to be premiered in December of 2015, in Philadelphia. Since the Fall of 2012 he has been one of the four national adjudicators for the National YoungArts Foundation in Miami, for their national competition selection of finalists and Presidential Scholars nominees. He’s also since 2007 the Music Director of TanzTheater André Koslowski and the USA Chief Regional Officer of the CELAM (Centro Latinoamericano de Música). Mr. Amaya has recently joined the faculty at Minot State University and has been named the Music Director for the Minot Symphony Orchestra, starting with the 2015-16 Season.

Efraín Amaya

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