Angélica Negrón

[audio:What Keeps Me Awake_Short Excerpt_Angelica Negron.mp3|titles=excerpt from What Keeps Me Awake|artists=NYU Symphony Orchestra]Composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1981 and is currently based in New York. Interested in creating intricate yet simple narratives that evoke intangible moments in time, she writes music for accordions, toys and electronics as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras.Angélica received an early education in piano and violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where she later studied composition under the guidance of composer Alfonso Fuentes. She has been awarded scholarships from the Amaury Veray Foundation (2004-2007), Phantomvox (2004), Pro Arte Musical (2006), the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (2007) and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (Emergency Grants 2009). Her music has been performed by Iktus Percussion Quartet, Astoria Symphony Orchestra, TRANSIT ensemble, janus trio, Cadillac Moon Ensemble, NYU Symphony Orchestra and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and she has written music for documentaries, films, theater and modern dance. She frequently collaborates with the experimental theater company from Puerto Rico Y No Había Luz writing music for their plays, which often incorporate puppets, masks and unusual objects.A long time member of the Puerto Rican underground music scene, Angélica is a founding member of the electro-acoustic pop outfit Balún where she sings and plays the accordion and violin. With her project Arturo en el Barco she concentrates on working with lo-fi ambient compositions and has released albums on Observatory (Austria) and Carte Postale Records (Belgium). She has performed in venues such as Mercury Lounge, Monkeytown, Galapagos Art Space, Roulette, The Tank, Glasslands and (Le) Poisson Rouge and in festivals like Pop Montreal 2007 (Montreal), Decibel 2008 (Seattle). Through the process of recontextualization and reappropiation she often incorporates found sounds and field recordings in her music attempting to create a personal microcosm of recollections through sound that accesses reality but at the same time deconstructs it.In 2008, as a recipient of the Lindsay and Brian Shea Fellowship, she participated in the European-American Musical Alliance (EAMA) Summer Music Program at L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where she studied with Dr. Robert Beaser, chair of the Composition department of The Juilliard School, and guest composer Sofia Gubaidulina. Her recent work for toy piano and electronics “Columpio” won second prize on the UnCaged Toy Piano Competition and she participated as a curatorial associate for MATA Interval Series for their 2008-09 season where she curated a concert at Issue Project Room (NYC) of music for toys and unconventional instruments.She holds a master’s degree in music composition from New York University where she studied with Pedro da Silva and is currently pursuing a doctorate in music composition at The Graduate Center (CUNY), where she studies with Tania León. She also holds a bachelor’s in audiovisual communications from the University of Puerto Rico, and has contributed as a writer to the International Alliance of Women in Music Journal and the British magazine The Wire. Also active as an educator, Angélica is currently working as a teaching artist for the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s School Residency Initiative program.She is a member of ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, New York Women Composers and the American Music Center, and is currently working on a commission from MATA Festival 2011 for a new piece for chorus and live electronics.