The City Council receives the musical composition by David Rivas, winner of the 5th International Composition Competition for Symphonic Band

The piece will be performed by the Estepona Municipal Band, conducted by its composer, on November 20 at the Felipe VI Auditorium Theater, as part of the special concert in honor of Saint Cecilia

Eighteen musicians of outstanding national and international renown competed in the contest, which offered a prize of 10,000 euros. 

The Estepona City Council reports that composer and conductor David Rivas, a native of Torres, and winner of the 5th “Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol,” has completed the composition of the piece inspired by the city—a “Suite for Band” titled “Estepona, Garden of Light.”

As stipulated in the rules, the composer submitted the completed, written, and laid-out composition to the City Council—including both the conductor’s score and the individual parts for each musician—prior to September 18, 2026. Once the work has been reviewed by the specialized committee, its premiere will take place, along with the public presentation of the award to the winning composer. 

The work will be performed by the Estepona Municipal Band, conducted by its composer, on November 20 at the Felipe VI Auditorium Theater, coinciding with the special concert in honor of Saint Cecilia.

The composition submitted to the contest by David Rivas is a descriptive suite in three movements (“Natural Environment”; “Light and Urban Landscape”; and “Cultural and Musical Life”). The title “Estepona, Garden of Light” thus evokes a luminous and vibrant city, where landscape, architecture, and daily life coexist in harmony. 

This competition, organized by the City Council, offers a single, indivisible prize of 10,000 euros and aims to encourage great composers to create symphonic works for the wind band repertoire, inspired by the city of Estepona. A total of eighteen composers of recognized national and international prestige participated in this edition.

The jury for this edition, chaired by Macarena Diánez, the city councilor assigned to the municipal Department of Culture, consisted of band and orchestra conductor, composer, and pianist Fernando Ferrer Martínez “Ferrer Ferran”; Óscar Navarro González, conductor, clarinetist, composer, and music educator, nominated for the Goya Award for Best Original Music (La Mula, 2013); and José María Moreno Valiente, music director of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra.

These high-caliber, internationally renowned professionals were tasked with selecting the composer with the strongest résumé and body of work—one whose musical composition project embodies their vision of the city—and who exemplifies the contest’s core values by promoting the city of Estepona, its people, and its traditions. To this end, they took into account criteria such as the composer’s career, their musical body of work, their experience, and their dedication to creating music for “symphonic band” or “wind and percussion orchestra.”

The City Council organized the first edition of this competition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Municipal Band (1940–2020). The winning works from the four competitions held are: “Estepona, Garden of the Mediterranean (Astabuna),” by Jaén-based composer Álvaro López Cámara; “Estepona, the Garden of the World,” by the Valencian composer Fernando Ferrer Martínez, known artistically as Ferrer Ferran; the Suite Continua for Symphonic Band “Impressions of Estepona” by the Dutch conductor and composer Christiaan Janssen; and the Sinfonietta for Wind and Percussion Orchestra “Estepona, the City of Flowers,” by the Valencian composer and conductor Hugo Chinesta. All of these works are now part of the archive of the Estepona Municipal Band department.

David Rivas Domínguez was born in Toro (Zamora) in 1980. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Art History and in Music History and Sciences from the University of Salamanca.

He has been a secondary school music teacher in Castile and León, having passed the competitive civil service exam, since 2006. His catalog includes over 450 compositions, some of which have won numerous composition awards in Spain. David’s music has premiered in countless national theaters and concert halls, and has also been performed in countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Peru, Greece, Bolivia, Slovenia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Cuba, England, Hungary, Costa Rica, Germany, Brazil, Russia, Norway, Japan, the U.S., Belgium, Venezuela, Uruguay, Taiwan, Panama, Ecuador, Canada, Bulgaria, and the Dominican Republic.

In recent years, some of his works have been selected as required pieces in major band competitions, including the international competitions in Valencia, Galicia, and Benavente; the national competitions in Cullera and Murcia; and the provincial competition in Castellón. Rivas has conducted his compositions in countless national theaters and concert halls, as well as in countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Argentina, and his music has been featured on more than 25 recordings, notably the four self-produced albums recorded with the Bilbao Municipal Band, the Unión Musical de Pozuelo, the Banda Primitiva de Llíria, and the Veguellina de Órbigo and JJMM de León bands, alongside maestros José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana, Carlos Herrero, Javier Enguídanos, and Luis Longoria, respectively.

David has won eight composition awards in Spain, in addition to receiving several accolades from the U.S. for his music for wind band:

– “Mi nuevo amigo”: second prize in the 2016 Youth Band Competition organized by the TMJ in Valencia.

– “Manuela Calzada”: first prize in the 2016 International Pasodoble Competition in Benimaclet, Valencia.

– “Llanto por Cristo Muerto”: first prize in the 2017 National Funeral March Competition in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia).

– “Fiesta en Jalance”: Audience and Musicians’ Choice Awards at the Jalance (Valencia) Pasodoble Competition, held in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Unión Musical de Jalance.

– “Saragüell”: Finalist in the 18th Alzira (Valencia) Fallas Pasodoble Composition Contest.

– “Memoria da Gallaecia”: First Prize in the 11th Composition Contest of the Galician Federation of Marching Bands in the 3rd Category.

– “Genio y figura”: finalist in the 3rd Fallas Pasodoble Competition in Xátiva (Valencia).

Among his international accolades, he has won three silver medals and two bronze medals at the Global Music Awards, based in San Diego (California); two first prizes at the Akademia Awards in Los Angeles; a LIT Talent Award from New York; a Jerry Goldsmith Award; and a special award from the Akademia Music Awards for his musical legacy.

Rivas is a member of the Latin Grammy Academy and the Spanish Music Academy, and since 2017 has been the recipient of the Caja Rural Scientific Foundation Award in the category of Excellence in Culture. In addition, he has held the “Bombardino de las Capas Pardas” from Zamora since 2024 and received the “Barandales de Honor” awarded by the Zamora Holy Week Committee in 2026.

He currently balances his teaching and composing work with travel throughout the country as a conductor, jury member, or guest composer.