Mazatlán and the artistic community of the port are celebrating, with the triumph of the new composer Paulina Astorga Monteón, winner of the Arturo Márquez Composition Competition for Chamber Orchestra 2023.
The graduate of the Music School of the Municipal Center for the Arts obtained the place of honor in the prestigious contest by competing with the pseudonym Venado Cola Blanca with her work “De sol a sol”, music inspired by the “Danza del venado”.
Happy with the experience, the Mazatlan native became the second woman to obtain the place of honor, and the third laureate to appear on the awards list in 11 editions of the contest with a record of more than 500 compositions throughout its story.
In the last two years, the career of Paulina Monteón (stage name) has been on the rise. In addition to winning the place of honor in the Arturo Márquez Composition Contest, she won the scholarship from the Program of Stimuli for Artistic Creation and Development (PECDA). ) Sinaloa 2023 in the Young Creators category with the work “Voices in life, love and death”, which will be premiered in the coming months with the support of the Ángela Peralta Choir.
Another achievement was the world premiere of her work “Colors sprout from the earth”, composed in 2022 with the sponsorship of the Arturo Márquez Extraordinary Chair of Musical Composition, of the UNAM Music Directorate, and of (Re) Encuentro, for orchestra chamber music, which had its world premiere in May 2022 in the Auditorium of the University Museum of Contemporary Art.
With these results obtained, the proud Mazatlecan woman shares what her journey has been like in recent years, her beginnings at the CMA and, above all, her professional aspirations.
Interview
Congratulations, how do you feel about winning first place in the Arturo Márquez Composition Competition for chamber orchestra 2023?
.-I feel very happy, it is a competition that I have seen throughout my career, my colleagues have been participants, and great composers are judges, I had thought about entering, I decided and luckily for me, it was the first time that I entered and won, I feel very excited because it is a very important contest.
Who made up the jury this year?
Arturo Márquez was a juror and is one of the main composers in Mexico, his best-known work is “Danzón No. 2”, a piece played all over the world, every year, and in his honor this composition contest has been held, also a chair to study with him for a year per competition and it is a very important festival, every year the jury changes.
You won with the song “De sol a sol”, tell us what inspired you for this piece?
“De sol a sol” is a work for chamber orchestra based on the “Deer Dance” in Sinaloa, the details of the contest are that it has to be inspired by traditional Mexican rhythms and they can be native, it can be salsa, cumbia, bachata tango, reggaeton, or whatever the composer likes.
The point is that (the composition) is based on a popular or traditional Mexican rhythm or appropriate in Mexico. I based it on the “Dance of the Deer”, I took more than anything, rhythms and the history of dance. My work is divided into four parts, the piece lasts around 12 minutes. The first presents the deer part; The second part addresses the topic of the Pascolas, which are the counterpart of the deer, in the Sinaloa dance the deer represents good, and the pascolas represent evil, wow!; The third part is the meeting between these two and musically there is a kind of fight, let’s call it between the two musical themes, and finally it would be the triumph of the deer, because unlike other places where the deer dies, in some parts of Sinaloa The Deer triumphs, and the good triumphs independently of the number of pascolas or the little animal, so I liked that approach more, I took this last part of the triumph and it is the final part of the work, in it I present the theme of the deer and much bigger, more majestic because he triumphed.
The name De sola sol“ [from sun to sun] is because my idea of writing the work is a day in the life of the deer, we associate an image of nobility to the deer, which is a peaceful animal, calm unless it is necessary to fight, if not really. They look for it or threaten its integrity or its herd, it does not attack, so the issue of the deer is something very solemn.
The first time it is presented with a horn and that is the idea of the deer. The piece begins with the sun rising and concludes with the sunset.
In this piece, which instrument dominates or has the most musical presence?
Wow, I don’t think there is one specifically, but if I had to give importance to one it would be the horn, because it is the first one to present the deer theme, the instruments go through the entire orchestra and there are moments where everyone has a protagonistic level from the strings, be it violins, cellos, the breaths and perhaps the brass, mainly the horn is the one that brings within itself the theme of the deer, perhaps that one.
How many people participated this year for the Arturo Márquez Composition Competition for chamber orchestra 2023?
I don’t know, but this year the call turns 10 years old, and I saw a data that they published, that in 9 years around 540 compositions have been sent, so, taking an average it must be about 50. The call is for Mexicans and foreign residents In Mexico, it can be anyone as long as they are 40 years old.
In addition to the monetary amount, what else does the first place prize consist of?
At the premiere of the work for the Roberto Cantoral fall artistic festival in Mexico City, the work premieres on November 16th at the Roberto Cantoral hall in an awards concert. It is directed by the director in charge.
Are your plans to present “De sol a sol” in Mazatlán or Sinaloa in the short, medium or long term?
I would love to, but nothing has ever been released to me in Mazatlán. Maybe I haven’t looked for the opportunity, or the conditions for the premiere haven’t been met. I studied composition at the Faculty of Music of the UNAM, I studied the degree and I have not lived in Mazatlán for that long, but I would love to premiere this work in Mazatlán, it would be a dream to be honest, in fact they have not played one of my premieres in Sinaloa, but for example in Mazatlán my first premiere will be this Tuesday, October 24th at Casa Haas, a guitar work will be premiered as part of the activities of the Sinaloa Cultural Festival, it will be performed by guitarist Alan Guerra. Two things come together, Alan returning and the premiere of “Taciturn of the Desert.” His (Alan) project is a bestiary, each work is representative of a typical animal and I dedicated the piece to the pygmy skunk.
I think that, perhaps by May 2024, if everything goes well, I will have the pleasure of having a work of mine premiered for choir with the Ángela Peralta Choir, hopefully, it is by the PECDA Sinaloa. I am working on this piece that will be for choir, it will be in its piano version, there will be choir, two soloists and piano.
What would the name of this premiere that you will have with the Ángela Peralta Choir?
It is called “Voices in Life, Love and Death”, it is a cycle of songs for choir and two soloists, it will be soprano and tenor, or soprano and baritone, I am thinking of changing it, and the piano, there will be a version for orchestra, but for the premiere is more feasible the piano version. It is based on texts by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.
This year I won the support of PECDA, they also premiered an orchestral piece for me, which was the product of another contest to study for a year with Arturo Márquez, I won it last year, throughout 2022 I was studying with maestro Márquez, and two were made pieces, the first was premiered last year, and this year the symphonic version was premiered, the other was for chamber orchestra.
I am happy for this award, I am the second woman to win it in 10 years, and the third to appear on the list, since one woman won, one more received honorable mention, and I won this year.
Networks
instagram.com/MonteonPaulina
facebook.com/MonteonPaulina
youtube.com/@MonteonPaulina
