José María Sánchez-Verdú

 José María Sánchez-Verdú (born 1968 in Algeciras) is a Spanish composer.

He graduated in Orchestra Conducting, Musicology and Composition at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música of Madrid and has a degree in Law (Universidad Complutense). He studied composition in 1992 under F. Donatoni in Siena. He finished his postgraduate studies under H. Zender at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kust in Frankfurt from 1996 to 1999 and gained first experiences as Composer in residence at the Spanish Academy in Rome in 1997 and during the DAAD/la Caixa scholarship from 1997 to 1999. As a conductor, he has worked with different ensembles and orchestras in Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, Peru, Argentina, Egypt, etc. (Ensemble Modern, KNM Berlin, Neue Vocaksolisten Stuttgart, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and many more).

His versatile carrier led to numerous commissions containing the Hannover Biennial for new music, the Expo 2000 German pavilion, Festspiele Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Spanish Ministry of Culture, Festival Internacional de Música y Danza of Granada, Deutsche Oper Berlin (Silence, chamber opera, 2005), Munich Biennial (GRAMMA, chamber opera, 2006), Teatro Real de Madrid (El viaje a Simorgh, opera, 2007), Venice Biennale/Operadohy/Musik der Jahrhubderte Stuttgart (AURA, opera 2009), Festival Ultraschall Berlin, Beethoven-Festspiele Bonn, Salzburg Biennale, etc. His works have been performed at festivals such as Tage für Neue Musik (Stuttgart), Venice Biennale, Saarbrücken-Festspiele, MaerzMusik Berlin, Warsaw Autumn Festival, etc. but also at the Alte Oper (Frankfurt), Berlin and Cologne Philharmonics, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gewandhaus (Leipzig), Musikverein (Vienna), Progetto-Musica (Rome), Spring Festival (Prague), Ultraschall Berlin, Ars Musica Brussels, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Lincoln Center (New York), Festival de Música de Canarias, etc. Works performed by the Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta de RTVE, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Radiophilharmonie Hannover (NDR), Radio-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchester, Hamburg Philharmoniker, Ensemble Modern, ensemble recherche, musikFabrik, Ensemble Oriol Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam, KNM Berlin, SWR-Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Neuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, BCN216, Grup Instrumental de Valencia and many more. His composition awards include the Cristóbal Halffter (1995), three awards from the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE, 1996 and 1997), Ciutat d’Alcoi (1997), the Spanish Ministry of Culture/Colegio de España in Paris (1998), First Composition Prize of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (1999), finalist at the Irino Composition Prize in Tokyo (1999), Förderpreis of the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music in Munich (2001), Composition Prize of the Bergische Biennale in Wuppertal (2001), Spain’s National Music Award (2003), The Antara Award (Lima International Festival of Contemporary Music, 2007). He has been "Composer in residence" by Jünger künstler Festival (Bayreuth), 5 Festival de Música Contemporánea of Lima (Peru), Charinthischer Sommer Festival (Austria), Festival Ostertöne (Hamburg), Cairo Contemporary Music Days, etc. Between 1991 and 1995 he taught Counterpoint and Fugue at the Real Conservatorio Madrid. Since October 2001 he lectured on Composition at the Robert-Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf and since 2008 also at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragon (Zaragoza). His works are published by Breitkopf & Härtel.