(b. 10 March 1958, Cochabamba).
Bolivian composer, now resident in the UK, of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, and choral works that have been performed in the Americas and Europe.
Mr. Fernández studied at the Instituto Eduardo Laredo in Cochabamba from 1967–73 and studied composition with Alberto Villalpando at the Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo in La Paz. He had postgraduate studies in composition at the University of Liverpool in 1984–85, where he earned his MMus, then studied composition at City University London from 1985–90 and earned his PhD there. He also studied composition privately with Akira Ifukube and Takashi Iida in Japan, as well as conducting privately with Daniel Asia in the UK and violin privately with Takeshi Kobayashi in Japan.
Among his honours are Primer Premio in an interprovincial competition for charango (10-string lute from Bolivia) in Cochabamba (1971), Primer Premio in the competition for the Sesquicentenario de la República in La Paz (1975), the Training Award from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (1980–81), and an award from the Rotary Club in Tōkyō (1981–82, which enabled studies in Japan). He later received the FCO Award from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1984–89, which enabled postgraduate studies in the UK) and the Hamlyn Bursary from the Dartington International Summer School (1991).
He taught at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música in La Paz from 1977–80. He taught as composer-in-residence at Queen's University Belfast from 1990–94 and lectured at the Dartington College of Arts in Devon in 1994–95. He has taught at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne since 1995, where he was a lecturer from 1995–2000 and a senior lecturer from 2000–07 and where he has been chair in composition since 2007.
He has lived in the UK since 1984.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
Crossroads Talk (music-theatre work; percussionist also speaks), clarinet (+ bass clarinet), alto saxophone (+ baritone saxophone), violin (+ viola), piano (+ synthesizer), percussion, 1984
Teoponte (music-theatre work, text by the composer), 6 mixed voices, fixed media, 1988
Botanic Journey (music-theatre work, text by Robyn Archer), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1991
A Queen Has her Portrait Painted (music-theatre work, text by Edward Kemp), 2 sopranos, piano, 1991
The Wheel (music-theatre work, text by Felicity Hayes-McCoy), 4 mixed voices, guitar (+ mandolin), viola, double bass, piano, accordion, percussion, 1992–93, revised 2003
Books and Night (music-theatre work, texts by the composer, Felicity Hayes-McCoy, John Keats), 4 sopranos, baritone, female chorus, 2 trumpets, trombone, timpani, 1995
ORCHESTRAL:
Danza de la loma, 1986
Fuego, 1987
Peregrine, small orchestra (14 players), 1996
La Yapa, string orchestra, 1999
A Hidden Music, piano, string orchestra, 2003
Mystical Dances, 2006
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Meditación, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, piano, harpsichord, 3 percussion, 1985
Wounded Angel, charango, fixed media, 1989
Botanic Spider, piano, string quartet, 1991
Nana del Insomne, guitar, 1992
The Falcon's Kiss, soprano saxophone, piano, 1994
Munirando I, clarinet, piano, 1994
Munirando II, violin, piano, 1998
Trío, violin, cello, piano, 2003
A to Z, flutes (1 player), charango, 2000–06
¡Oh Guitarra!, guitar, 2006
Fantasia on a Theme by Kathryn Tickell, Northumbrian smallpipes, ensemble (flute [+ piccolo], oboe [+ English horn], bass clarinet, 2 French horns, double bass), 2007
String Quartet No. 1, 'Montes', 2007
Souvenir de Teoponte, double bass, piano, 2011
CHORAL:
Tres Canciones sobre poemas de Rachel (text by Rachel [Spanish translation]), mixed chorus, 1976
Cantata de Navidad y Epifanía (text by the composer), baritone, speaker, children's chorus, 2 pianos, 1978
Himno del Instituto Laredo (text by the composer), children's chorus, mixed chorus, orchestra ad libitum, 1978
Misa de Corpus Christi, baritone, children's chorus, mixed chorus, large orchestra, 1978, reconstructed 2010
El Afilador, children's chorus/mixed chorus, 1981
Approaching Melmoth, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 2000
Collier's Rant (text from the folksong The Collier's Rant), children's chorus, boys' chorus, 2 mixed choruses, 2013
VOCAL:
El Anillo (text by Federico García Lorca), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1976
Pájaro negro (text by the composer), soprano, flute, 2 clarinets (1st + bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, piano, 1986
The Song of the Morrow (text by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by the composer), soprano, tenor, piano, 1992
Red Songs (texts by Catherine Lenaghan, Rowena Pollard), soprano, piano, 1996
Alquimia (text by the composer), soprano, piano, 2006
PIANO:
Cinco Piezas de plata, 1985
Portrait, 2 pianos, 1990
Distant Episodes, 2 pianos, 2009
ELECTROACOUSTIC:
Silent Towers, fixed media, 1990