Born in 1973 in Santurce, Puerto Rico to Cuban parents, composer Armando Bayolo began musical studies at the age of twelve. At sixteen he went on to study at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, where he first began the serious study of composition. He holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Yale University and the University of Michigan.
Mr. Bayolo's music, which has been called "fresh, upbeat and well structured" by McArthur Grant-winning composer Bright Sheng, encompasses a variety of genres including works for solo instruments, voices, chamber and orchestral music. His works have been performed around the world, most notably by the Opera in the Ozarks Festival, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, the Rose City Chamber Orchestra, the Prime Directive Ensemble, New Music New Haven, the Lee University Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble Courage and the Rosseels and Euclid String Quartets. The Sioux City (Iowa) Journal calls Mr. Bayolo a promising young talent and composer Evan Chambers says "his works often exude a searching quality that makes each piece (even the lighthearted ones) a pathway reaching toward a kind of understanding or discovery. Achieving this effect is one of the most difficult and important projects for an artist to undertake, and he does it with a sincere heart and great technical accomplishment!"
Upcoming performances include the East coast premiere of his string octet, Ludi--which W. Gerald Cochran of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer says is a work that "deserves to be heard many more times, and in many more places. It is new, it is fresh and it gets its message across," by the Euclid and Degas Quartets at the Library of Congress; the oratorio Towards Golgotha with the National Gallery of Art Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Great Noise Ensemble, and the premiere of Ritornello by the Great Noise Ensemble. Recent commissions include a work for piano and percussion for the Percussion Plus Project and a large work based on the Harvard Murals of Mark Rothko commissioned by the National Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution for the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Great Noise Ensemble.
Also active as a conductor, Mr. Bayolo has served as founder and director of the Prime Directive ensemble and new music series in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as music director of the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society, visiting director of the Reed College Chamber Orchestra as well as guest conductor of the Lee University Chamber Orchestra. He is currently the Music Director of The Great Noise Ensemble, a group specializing in contemporary music which he founded in Washington, D.C. in 2005. With Great Noise he will lead several world and regional premieres in 2006-07 and will conduct the only concert celebrating the 70th birthday of American composer Steve Reich to be held in the Washington, D.C. region.
Mr. Bayolo was recently featured in the Public Radio program Studio 360, broadcast nationally from WNYC in New York City. He joined the faculty of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in the fall of 2006. He lives in New Hartford, New York with his wife and daughter.
Armando Bayolo: Composer & Conductor's Friend Space (Top 14)
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Masquerade! Paper faces on parade . . . Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you! Masquerade! Every face a different shade . . . Masquerade! Look around - there's another mask behind you!
My Christmas wish for you, my friend Is not a simple one For I wish you hope and joy and peace Days filled with warmth and sun
I wish you love and friendship too Throughout the coming year Lots of laughter and happiness To fill your world with cheer
May you count your blessings, one by one And when totaled by the lot May you find all you've been given To be more than what you sought
May your journeys be short, your burdens light May your spirit never grow old May all your clouds have silver linings And your rainbows pots of gold
I wish this all and so much more May all your dreams come true May you have a Merry Christmas friend And a happy New Year, too .. We wish you a merry Christmas :)
Believe in your heart that something wonderful is about to happen. Love your life. Believe in your own powers, and your own potential, and in your own innate goodness. Wake every morning with the awe of just being alive. Discover each day the magnificent, awesome beauty in the world. Explore and embrace life in yourself and in everyone you see each day. Reach within to find your own specialness. Amaze yourself and rouse those around you to the potential of each new day. Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect; this is the essence of your humanity. Let those who love you help you. Trust enough to be able to take. Look with hope to the horizon of today, for today is all we truly have. Live this day well. Let a little sun out as well as in. Create your own rainbows. Be open to all your possibilities; all possibilities and Miracles.
