Alberto Grau: The Composer, Selected Works, and Influence upon the Venezuelan and International Choral Community

Alberto Grau is arguably one of the most influential contemporary Venezuelan choral composers and conductors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This thesis explores the synthesis of Venezuelan nationalism with global internationalism found within his works. As a student of the nationalistic generation of composers (Vicente Emilio Sojo, Juan Bautista Plaza, and Angel Sauce) Grau's works display the distinct characteristics found in Venezuelan music. His output also exhibits international influences, using texts associated with social and environmental events and concerns including literary and musical influences of other nations and cultures. The first section of the thesis traces the lineage of Venezuelan choral composers beginning with the colonial period and the Escuela de Chacao to the nationalistic composers from the Santa Capilla generation. The second section describes Alberto Grau's compositional style as exemplified in his work Kasar mie la gaji (The Earth is Tired). The final section of the document comprises interviews with Alberto Grau and his wife, the Venezuelan choral conductor, Maria Guinand. Guinand studied piano and conducting with Alberto Grau and was his assistant at the Orfeon Universitario Simon Bolivar and the Schola Cantorum de Caracas. She is the founding conductor of the Cantoria Alberto Grau and the editor of the Latin American division of Earthsongs Music. Through interviews and analysis this project informa the reader about the life and compositions of Venezuelan choral composer and conductor Alberto Grau.