Roque Cordero was a Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

nian composer.

Life

Born in Panama City

Panama City

Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...

, he studied composition under Ernst Krenek

Ernst Krenek

Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...

 and conducting under Dimitri Mitropoulos, Stanley Chapple, and Leon Barzin

Leon Barzin

Léon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States...

 before becoming director of the Institute of Music and Artistic Director and conductor of the National Symphony of his native country. Later he was assistant director of the Latin American Music Center (LAMúsiCa), professor of composition at Indiana University

Indiana University Bloomington

Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...

, and, from 1972, distinguished professor emeritus at Illinois State University

Illinois State University

Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...

.

His works have been widely performed in Latin America, the United States and Europe, receiving international awards for his First Symphony (Honorable Mention, Detroit, 1947), Rapsodia Campesina (First Prize, Panama, 1953), Second Symphony (Caro de Boesi Award, Caracas, Venezuela, 1957), Violin Concerto (1974 Koussevitzky International Recording Award), and Third String Quartet (Chamber Music Award, San José, Costa Rica, 1977). Several of his compositions have been recorded by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...

, the Louisville Orchestra

Louisville Orchestra

The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky and has been called the cornerstone of the Louisville arts scene. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville...

, the Chicago Sinfonietta

Chicago Sinfonietta

The Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. The stated mission of the orchestra is to "serve as a national model for inclusiveness and innovation in classical music" and to "help America become a true cultural democracy, in which everyone can share fully in its...

 (Eight Miniatures for Small Orchestra, Paul Freeman, conductor, Cedille Records) and various chamber music groups and soloists. He has appeared as guest conductor in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and in the United States. His "Sonata breve" for solo piano, composed in 1966, is published by C.F. Peters. His Second Symphony was performed by the Seattle Philharmonic in April 2008.

After retiring he spent the last eight years of his life living with his family in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

, where he died at age 91 .

Chamber Works

• Dodecaconcerto
• Dos Piezas Cortas
• Adagio Tragico, String Orchestra
• Elegy, String Orchestra
• Mensaje Funebre
• Movimiento Sinfonico, String Orchestra
• Ocho Miniaturas, Chamber Orchestra
• Paz, Paix, Peace, Harp and Ensemble
• Permutaciones 7
• Quinteto
• Soliloquios No. 1
• Soliloquios No. 2
• Soliloquios No. 3
• Sonata
• Sonatina
• String Quartet No. 1
• String Quartet No. 2
• Tres Mensajes Breves, Viola and Piano
• Variations and Theme for Five, Woodwind Quintet

Orchestral Works

• Capricho Interiorano: Panamanian Folk Ballet Suite
• Cinco Mensajes Breves para Orquesta
• Concerto for Violin
• Momentum Jubilo
• Obertura de Salutacion
• Panamanian Overture No. 2
• Six Mobiles for Orchestra
• Symphony No. 1
• Symphony No. 2
• Symphony No. 3, With a Theme and Five Variations
• Symphony No. 4

External links

• Peermusic Classical: Roque Cordero Composer's Publisher and Bio
• LAMúsica - Latin American Music Center at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
• Roque Cordero's Memorial Page from the Latin American Music Center at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
• Roque Cordero: The bigger secret of modern Music when it come to panamanian avantgarde music composer