Beatriz Corona, first woman to win the Ibermúsicas Prize for Choral Composition

November 7, 2021

Choral director and music producer, Beatriz Corona, received on Monday, November 1st the Ibermúsicas Prize for Choral Composition, thus becoming the first woman to merit this award.

«Another award for Cuba and more in these times, I am happy and delighted for the women, and for women composers in Cuba, that they join these programs and fight for their spaces», expressed the award recipient, who added that it is very good that instructors are considered and that women win their place as creators.

According to the Ibermúsicas digital site, a jury made up of the great master Digna Guerra, from Cuba, and the maestros Rodrigo Cadet, from Mexico, and Esteban Louise, from Uruguay, evaluated the 156 works submitted to the competition and chose "Martianas" presented under the pseudonym Chedaca, which corresponds to Cuban composer Beatriz Corona Rodríguez, as the winner.

The jury highlighted the very high compositional level reflected in a large number of works, which, while greatly enriching the competition material, generated an intense and friendly debate among its three members.

Regarding the awarded work, they expressed: «It is an original work, a set of five pieces for mixed choir, based on texts by Martí, composed using rhythmic elements of Cuban music, specifically genres such as the habanera, the guajira, the son and the danzón, always using absolutely tonal, lyrical music.

Cuba has been a member of the Ibermúsicas Program since 2016, and during these years artists from home have been awarded such as Alejandro Falcón, Eme Alfonso, Ivette Letuse, Verónica Cruz, and have participated as jury members Argelia Fragoso, Liuba María Hevia, among others.

Carole Fernández Martínez, director of Producciones Colibrí and Cuba's representative at Ibermúsicas, acknowledges that this is an award of firsts in this category (choral composition), since for the first time a Cuban participates in the jury (Digna Guerra), it is the first time a woman is awarded, and the same occurs with a Cuban in general.

As a composer, arranger, choral director and music producer, Beatriz Corona has a career that places her as one of the most solid and prestigious choral music composers in Cuba.