Biography
Elena Miguélez Civera trained in the conservatories of Palencia,
Burgos, León and Oviedo where she graduated with honours in
Pianoforte with Dª Teresa Pérez Hernández. She is qualified as a Higher Professor of:
Piano, Chamber Music, Solfège, Music Theory, Transposition and Accompaniment;
and Musical Pedagogy. In 2003 she moved
to Utrecht (Netherlands) where she spent two years furthering her studies in the
Utrecht Faculty of Music. In June 2005,
under the guidance of Paolo Giacometti, she gained her Postgraduate Diploma in
Music with excellent results. In 2010
she obtained her Diploma of Advanced Studies (D.E.A.) from the University of
Oviedo within the "Music in Contemporary Spain" doctorate program
with a distinction for her research on the post-1912 piano works of the Leonese
composer Rogelio Villar.
During her career she has had the pleasure of receiving advice from renowned pianists such as: Carmen Deleito, Josep Mª Colom, Marta Zabaleta, Lucca Chiantore, Francisco Jaime Pantín, Blanca Uribe, Julian Martin, Boris Slutsky, Dominic Weber, Stephen Prutsman, Joaquín Achúcarro, Alan Weis, Balázs Szokolay and Hakon Austbo.
Her pianistic abilities have been recognised in various competitions where she has been awarded first prize, such as the "Gerardo Diego" (Soria, 2003), where she also obtained the prize for the best performer in Castile and León. She also won the "Villa de Sahagún" International Young Performer´s Competition, as well as the "Caja Duero" prize (Soria, 2003). She obtained the special prize for her Higher Degree finals in addition to the “Ángel Muñiz Toca” overall special prize in the Oviedo Higher Conservatory of Music in 2001.
Her range as a concert pianist has led her to give solo recitals in diverse forms and accompanied by orchestras and bands. She has performed in Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy performing in venues such as: the Kikker Theatre and Fentener van Vlissingenzaal in Utrecht, Bachzaal and BeursvanBerlage in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Saint Alfege Church in Greenwich (London), the Sala Martucci in Naples, the Sir Geraint Evans Recital Room in Cardiff, the City of León Auditorium, the Ángel Barja Auditorium and the Eutherpe concert hall in León, the Bérgidum Theatre in Ponferrada, the Príncipe Felipe Auditorium, the CajaAstur Cultural Centre and the Museum of Fine Art in Oviedo, the Ibercaja Auditorium in Guadalajara, the CajaMurcia Auditorium and the Infanta Elena Auditorium in Águilas, Murcia, the Sala Caja Ruralin Guadalajara… not forgetting her collaboration in lyrical productions such as the Carmina Burana (Orff), The Little Sweep (Britten) or in festivals such as the Chamber Music Parade in the Vredemburg Hall in Utrecht, the Festival of Spanish Music in León and the “COMA” Festival of Contemporary Music in Madrid. She has performed for the Philharmonic Associations of Ávila and Almería. She has been accompanied by the Amnesty International Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of Extremadura, the “Odón Alonso” Symphonic Orchestra of the City of León and the Spanish Air Force Band.
She has had the pleasure of collaborating with first-rate musicians such as the saxophonists Arno Bornkamp, Christian Wirth, Jean Denis Michat, Alexandre Doisy, Gerad McChrystal and Nicolas Prost. Since 2008 she has been part of the duo “Saxperience” with saxophonist Antonio Cánovas Moreno. As an accompanying pianist and as a piano teacher, she is frequently invited to various conferences, such as the Third National Saxophone Conference or the First European Saxophone Congress 2014, and to courses, such as the City of Astorga International Music Conference, the Gijón "ArteForum", the León International Music Course and the "Sax&Sun" International Saxophone Competition. She has participated in discography projects such as the promotional CD recording for the "4e Fluticon Compositieconcours" with flautist Mélanie Cacault and Music across the Atlantic in collaboration with the Indiana South Bend University with saxophonist Antonio Cánovas.
In 2006, she gained the post of Piano Teacher from the Exam for Public Service in the Principality of Asturias. Since then, she has focused her teaching efforts in the "Conservatorio Superior de Música "Eduardo Martínez Torner" del Principado de Asturias" (Oviedo), where she has given classes in Piano, Repertoire with an Accompanying Pianist and Complementary Piano. She has taken the post of Director of the International Relations Office (ORI) since the implementation of the Erasmus program in the centre in 2006 until 2011.
Currently she splits her efforts between working as a teacher and concert pianist and elaborating her doctorate thesis on the Leonese composer Rogelio Villar.
Traducción: Ben McConell.