Roberto Tomás Valera Chamizo

He completed his musical studies at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in La Habana under the guidance of Leo Brouwer, José Ardévol and Edgardo Martín. He holds a Doctor's degree in Pedagogy from the University of La Habana.

Subsequently, he completed post-graduate studies in Musical Composition and Orchestra Direction at the Federico Chopin School in Varsovia, under the direction of composer professors Witold Rudzinski and Andrzej Dobrowolski and orchestra director Henryk Czyz.

He holds a Teaching degree from the Normal School for Teachers in La Habana, a Doctor's degree in Pedagogy from the University of that same city, and a Doctor's degree in Arts Sciences from the Superior Institute of Art, where he is a Senior Consulting Professor of Musical Composition and member of its Scientific Board. He has been President of the Cubadisco Prize Committee and is a member of the Latin American College of Art Music Composers. He is currently vice president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

In addition to his teaching work and simultaneously with it, Valera has developed an intense creative work as a composer in multiple spheres: symphonic music, chamber music, electroacoustic, for dance, for film, for music education.

In 1990 he was elected president of the Association of Musicians of the UNEAC, a position he held until 1992. In 1985 he obtained first prize in the National Composition Contest convened by the Ministry of Culture with his work Concierto por la Paz, for saxophone and symphonic orchestra. In 1989 he received the Annual Award for Recognition of Creative Work, the highest distinction granted by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Valera is the recipient of various national and international recognitions, including the Félix Varela Order of the First Grade, the Alejo Carpentier Medal, the Distinction for National Culture, granted by the Council of State, the distinction "For Cuban Education," granted by the Ministry of Higher Education, the José María Heredia Medal, granted by the Provincial Culture Office of Santiago de Cuba, the Karol Szymanowski Medal, granted by the Ministry of Culture and Art of the Republic of Polonia, the Key to the City of Santiago de Cuba, the Medal of the city of Basse Terre, Guadalupe, and others. In 2008 his work Non Divisi was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award in the category Best Contemporary Classical Work/Composition.

From 2000 onwards, Valera, fundamentally a composer, has been seen frequently conducting the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba and other orchestras in the country where he has included in his programs, in addition to traditional and contemporary repertoire, works by Cuban composers from all eras.

Among some of his most important compositions we can mention:

String Quartet (1967);

Conjuro, for soprano and orchestra (1968);

Iré a Santiago, for mixed choir (1969);

Devenir, for symphonic orchestra (1969);

Tres Impertinencias, for chamber ensemble (1971);

Extraplan, for symphonic orchestra; Tierra de Sol, Sky and Earth, for chamber ensemble (1993);

Glosas del Tiempo Recobrado, for piano, violin, cello and percussion (1994);

Yugo y Estrella, for symphonic orchestra, soprano, baritone and choir (1995);

Ajiaco (1990);

Concierto de Cojímar, for guitar and symphonic orchestra (1998),

Non Divisi (1999),

for string orchestra; the electroacoustic works Palmas (1992),

Período Espacial (1993),

Loa del Camino (1999),

Las Sombras no abandonan (2001).

Four Poems by Nicolás Guillén, for soprano, mixed choir and symphonic orchestra (2001),

Van Gogh's Blues Ear, solo piano (Van Gogh´s Blues Ear 2002),

Twelve Caribbean Studies, solo piano (2002),

Colhuacan, Choreographic Suite (2004),

Sound Tale, solo piano (2004);

Sonata Glosa de un Cuento, for guitar (2009).

Valera has also composed music for ballet, dance, feature and short films, and animated films.

He worked in the Music Department of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry. He was appointed subdirector of the Caturla Conservatory, and in 1968, he took on the position of professor of Harmony and Contemporary Technique at the National School of Art.

His works range from dances for orchestra and chamber music to pieces for voice and choir, among which are Devenir, Conjuro, Jitanjáfora.