Norman Milanés Moreno

He was born in Jiguaní, former province of Oriente, and is a composer and musical director.

He studied piano and trombone with his father, Miguel Milanés - musical director of the Mexican company Sonora Opera, which toured Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico - and at the Serret Provincial Conservatory of Music in Santiago de Cuba, where he also took theoretical subjects, later specializing in harmony and composition with Enrique Bellver and in orchestral direction with Manuel Duchesne Cuzán and Daniil Tiuilin.

From 1959 onwards he directed military bands in Holguín, Pinar del Río (founder), and those of the Army General Staff and the Revolutionary Navy.

Founding member and first musical director of the Lyric Theater of Pinar del Río "Ernesto Lecuona", where he made arrangements for the small orchestra format of the group. In 1969 he conducts Marina for the National Lyric Theater of Cuba and remains with the capital group for more than two decades.

During this period he works fundamentally with the repertoire of Spanish and Cuban zarzuela—Cecilia Valdés, El cafetal, Amalia Batista, Lola Cruz, La Habana que vuelve (with the Lyric of Holguín, 1989), Rosa la China, El batey, as well as the world premieres of La malquerida by H. Lara (1992); Alánkoro: rencor y amor by M. Romay (1993) and his own works El triunfo de la rebelión (1983) and the opera El sueño de los Carballo (1993). He conducts in co-production with the Theater of Zarzuela in Madrid, La chulapona (staging by Ulacia, 1989) and El dúo de La Africana (staging by Fernández Montesinos, 1990).

He conducted the premiere of Cecilia Valdés in Poland (1973, staging by Maria Foltyn, in Polish) and has performed in Europe, Hispanic America and Africa.

For some years now, he has resided in Spain, where he teaches at the Comarca Conservatory of the Albaida Valley, Valencia.

In his career as an orchestra conductor he has been musical director of the Gran Teatro de la Habana among other ensembles, and has conducted in countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Algeria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, etc.

As a Band director he has conducted among others the National Concert Band of Havana, the Band of the Cuban Navy, and is honorary director of the Music Band of Bocairent (Valencia).

Currently he is based in Spain where he conducts courses.

The courses he carries out are focused on anyone interested in the world of conducting, both those who want to approach conducting for the first time, being also interesting for band or orchestra directors with or without degrees who wish to deepen their knowledge in this specialty.