Conductor
Elegant, generous and energetic! Abraham Padilla Benavides (Lima, 1968) winner of the ALTAZOR Prize 2006 in Chile, translates his passion for people into his vibrant and moving interpretations of music. Owner of a solid background and musicianship, Abraham Padilla is committed to contribute permanently to the growth of music and cultural life in Perú. He is Artistic and Music Director of various orchestras and ensembles, such as Orquesta Intercultural Americana, Ensamble Intercultural Americano, Orquesta Experimental del Perú and Ensamble Contemporáneo Piedra Azul, with whom He has given very transcendent concerts. He has developed his career as conductor mainly devoted to his country, Perú and LatinAmerica. He is invited to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra of Perú often and has worked with all the important orchestras in his country. He has worked with soloists as Joan Pere Gil (Spain), Luis Orlandini (Chile), Lars Graugaard (Denmark), Asunción Claro (Chile-Denmark), Horacio Durán (Chile), among others and composers like Celso Garrido-Lecca, Gustavo Becerra Schmidt, Fernando García, Antón García Abril, Jorge Martínez, etc. Many composers have dedicated music to Him and He has premiered a lot of their works. He has recorded more than 30 Cds/DVDs. Also He has created new systems to work with Symphonic Bands in Perú and has conducted and completely developed the Symphonic Bands of the Peruvian Navy and the Peruvian Air Force leading them to it´s higher level ever. He also conducts the Young Orchestra of the National University of Music of Perú and the Instrumental Ensemble of the University of San Martín de Porres in Lima. He has also conducted many choruses in Perú and Chile like the chorus or Major National University of San Marcos and the Chorus of the University Ricardo Palma, among many others. As a well recognized professor he regularly teaches music conducting classes at the National University of Music of Peru, the Art Institute of the San Martín de Porres University, among other instances. He has been Artistic Director of the International Choral Festival LA MÚSICA NOS UNE and creator of the INTEGRATION CONCERTS, continuing his long history of integrating academic, traditional and popular music, as well as other arts. He is a Professional member of the Spanish Association of Orchestra Directors.
Composer
One of the most creative composers of his generation, Abraham Padilla Benavides has created very important pieces of music such as his First Symphony "Asháninka: Peruvian Symphony in five movements" based on his musicological research on the Amazonia of Perú including some chants from the Ashaninka Etnia. He has created a lot of songs and intercultural music in Ashaninka language. He has also created a stone ensemble, that uses stones as musical instruments. For it maestro Padilla has created many diferent ways to play and his own notation system. He also integrates Western instruments with traditional ones from Perú as Cajón Peruano, Quenas, Charango, among others. He has composed music for Orchestra, Chorus, Chamber Ensembles, Electronic, Instalations, Dance, Theatre, Documentaries and Movies. He has composed many pieces of music based on Peruvian and Latinamerican poetry by poets like César Vallejo, Javier Heraud, J. E. Eielson, Pablo Neruda, etc. He has also composed a large number of songs and instrumental pieces on POP style. He is a professor of the Composition specialty at the Art Institute of the San Martín de Porres University. He is also professor of the Music in Architecture course and part of the staff of the Creativity Workshop and the Communication course, of the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Arts of the National University of Engineering of Peru. He is a member of the General Society of Authors and Publishers of Spain.
Musicologist
Abraham Padilla has studied the music of Ashaninka people of the Peruvian Amazonia. He has devoted sereval years to it. There are three main ways of expression for Ashaninka music. First is the music made by the community, for parties and some ritual ceremonies. Second is the music that mothers sing to their children with the stories that build their cultural heritage. Third is the music made by the "Sheripiari", the chaman of the community who figth dark forces in order to protect their people. Abraham Padilla is in charge of Musicology Workshops I, II, III and IV at the National University of Music of Peru. He is also a teacher of the Master of Education through Art at the Ricardo Palma University. He is an advisor and jury of the Undergraduate and Master's Thesis. It is regularly published in the Cultural Boletin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru. He is a member of the INSTRUMENTA Association, dedicated to the investigation and dissemination of topics related to musical instruments in all their expressions and AHisECGre, Hispanic Association for the Study of Gregorian Chant.
