Faculty
José-Luis Maúrtua
Associate Professor of Composition and Theory
JOSÉ-LUIS MAÚRTUA, associate professor of composition and theory, joined the music faculty at Central Michigan University in August 1999. Dr. Maúrtua began to teach music at “Carlos Valderrama” Conservatory in Peru in 1988. After moving to the U.S., he taught at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C., at the Columbia Institute of Fine Arts in Falls Church, VA and as a graduate assistant at Florida State University. Maúrtua studied composition with David Martínez-Apellaniz, Scott Martin and Ladislav Kubik, and orchestral conducting with Carlota Mestanza, Paul Vermel and Leon Gregorian. Dr. Maúrtua has written music for the concert hall, dance, theater and film. His music has been performed in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Czech Republic, England and China. In 1997, while studying composition at Florida State University, Maúrtua won first place at the College Music Society Outstanding Student Composition Competition with his Peruviana for solo piano. In July 1998, he participated in the Czech-American Summer Music Institute at the Prague Academy of Music, Peruviana being performed at the Dvorak Museum. His Muliza for Alto and Tenor Saxophones, Piano and Percussion (Dorn Publications, Inc.) and his Rucaneo for Alto Saxophone and Piano (Watchdog Music) were premiered at the World Saxophone Congresses in Montreal, Canada in 2000 and in Minnesota, USA in 2003. In May 2001, Dr. Maúrtua collaborated with original music for Little Palaces: Michigan’s Historic Small Town Movie Theaters, a documentary produced by the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Central Michigan University and broadcast on PBS. His Two Peruvian Songs for Choir were premiered in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai in 2002 while his Dream Of Peace, written for the Tainjin Conservatory Choir premiered in Tianjin in 2004. The same year, Danzas Breves for Horn and Percussion and Les Trois Tiques for Flute and Clarinet premiered in Canada and England. In 2006, Maurtua’s work Festejo, which is based on Afro-Peruvian rhythms was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru and by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Venezuela, both ensembles conducted by Maestro Raphael Jiménez. His Mambo Místico for Two Pianos and his Les Trois Tiques for Flute and Clarinet are being released in 2007 by White Pine Music Records, performed by Le Belle Donne Piano Duo and The Crescent Duo.
Dr. Maúrtua’s musical activity encompasses not only classical music but also Jazz, Latin Jazz, Music Theater, Pop, Latino and Latin American folk genres. He has composed and arranged music for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, big band, salsa band and ensembles of varied nature. His knowledge of Latin American music comes mainly from performing in diverse groups as pianist, guitarist and singer. In 1993 he performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as pianist/arranger for renowned Peruvian folk singer Aurora Alcalá. His first performance at the Kennedy Center, however, took place in 1992 as guitarist, arranger and singer for his group Vocal 3 with whom he recorded in Puerto Rico in 1994. As pianist/arranger he also recorded with Constelación Salsa Band in Ecuador in 1987 and with Lilo Gonzales y los de la Mount Pleasant in Washington, D.C. in 1995. Dr. Maúrtua has been composing songs for children every year since 1980, these songs continue to be performed and recorded by the Alicia y los Niños Children’s Show in Trujillo, Peru. In September 2002, Maurtua’s musical Soaring! premiered at the Midland Center for the Arts in Michigan. The year 2006 marked the 23rd anniversary of his Concierto 2000 Orchestra in Peru; the performance included Maúrtua’s orchestral compositions and arrangements from the early 1980s as well as new ones performed by the musicians and their children.
Dr. Maúrtua continues to work on his composition commissions while maintaining a professional engagement schedule as an orchestra conductor. He had his conducting debut with the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra in Peru in 1987, and returns to Trujillo every year as a guest conductor. He is also a regular guest of the National Symphony Orchestra in Lima. He has conducted the Bach International Festival Orchestra, the Rochester Symphony (Michigan) and the Chamber Orchestra of the University of Mexico, among others. From 1998 to 2002 he was music director and artistic advisor of the Trujillo International Voice Competitions in Peru with participants from Latin America, the US and Canada. In addition, he was music director and conductor of the CMU Symphony Orchestra during the 2008 Spring semester.
Dr. Maúrtua holds the doctor of music degree in composition from Florida State University; a master of music degree in composition from George Mason University and a bachelor of music degree in composition from Carlos Valderrama Conservatory, Trujillo, Peru.
Contact Information
Email: maurt1j@cmich.edu
Phone: (989) 774-1952 Call
Room: MU 171
