Composer and conductor Hugo Chinesta wins the IV International Composition Competition for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol’.

Eight musicians of outstanding national and international prestige competed in the competition, which is endowed with 10,000 euros.

The winner has until January 10, 2025 to compose a work inspired by the city.

The Estepona City Council informs that the composer and conductor Hugo Chinesta (Aldaia, 1977) has won the IV Composition Contest for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol’, endowed with a single and indivisible prize of 10,000 euros.

This contest organized by the City Council is open to musicians of any nationality of age, and aims to encourage great composers to create symphonic works for band repertoire inspired by the city of Estepona. A total of eight composers of recognized national and international prestige have competed in this edition.

The jury of this edition is chaired by the band and orchestra conductor, composer and pianist Fernando Ferrer Martínez ‘Ferrer Ferran’, along with 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, conductor of the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra.

These high-level and internationally renowned professionals have been in charge of choosing the composer with the best curriculum and catalog, in whose musical composition project reflects his vision of the city and the values of the contest are outstanding, promoting the city of Estepona, its people and its customs. To do this, they have taken into account criteria such as the composer’s career, his musical catalog, his experience and dedication to symphonic bands or wind and percussion orchestras.

The project presented by Hugo Chinesta is a Sinfonietta for Wind and Percussion Orchestra, and is entitled ‘Estepona, City of Flowers’. According to the rules, the winning composer must compose the work before January 10, 2025.

Once the composition has been reviewed by the specialized commission, the Estepona Town Hall, in agreement with the winner of the contest, will set a date for the premiere of the Estepona-inspired work, which will be performed by the Municipal Band, and the prize will be awarded publicly. The winner will not be allowed to participate in the next five editions of the contest.

The Consistory convened the first edition of this contest to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Municipal Band (1940-2020). After the success achieved in terms of number of participants and quality of the compositions, the City Council has opted to maintain this contest to continue expanding the cultural offerings of the city.

The winning works of the three previous contests are: ‘Estepona, Jardín del Mediterráneo (Astabuna)’, by the composer Álvaro López Cámara from Jaén; ‘Estepona, el Jardín del Mundo’, by the Valencian composer Fernando Ferrer Martínez, artistically known as Ferrer Ferran; and the Suite Continua for Symphonic Band ‘Impresiones de Estepona’ by the Dutch conductor and composer Christiaan Janssen. All of them are already part of the archive of the department of the Municipal Band of Estepona.

Hugo Chinesta. Composer and conductor. Born in Aldaia (Valencia) in 1977, he is Professor of Music and Bachelor of Composition.

As a composer he has been a finalist in several competitions and has won several awards and mentions: ‘Los Tres Reyes Magos’, which was awarded in 2020 at the World Music Awards in Los Angeles (USA), ‘El Ángel del Apocalipsis’, awarded in 2021 with the Silver Medall at the World Music Awards in Los Angeles (USA) and ‘Medina Elvira’ in 2023 with the Silver Medall at the World Music Awards in Los Angeles (USA).

He has been the chief conductor of the musical groups Banda Juvenil de la Unión Musical de Aldaia, Agrupación Musical Els Majors de l’Horta Sud, S.M La Tropical de Benigánim and UMC de Altura (Castellón).

He has been awarded as conductor in several contests with four honorable mentions and several first prizes. He is Honorary Conductor of the Musical Group Els Majors de l’Horta Sud. At the present time he is the titular conductor of La Lira de Alfarb, professor of Composition at the MP Music Academy of Madrid, and Director of the Music School of the Musical Union of Aldaia.