Francisco Lara Tejero is a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 composer and conductor of classical music.

Early life and education

Born in Valladolid

Valladolid

Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...

, Spain, in 1968, Lara studied at the Madrid Royal Conservatory where he graduated in 1990. In 1991, he continued to study composition in London at the Royal College of Music

Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...

 and at King's College

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

 where he received a PhD in 1999 under the supervision of Sir Harrison Birtwistle

Harrison Birtwistle

Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH is a British contemporary composer.-Life:Birtwistle was born in Accrington, a mill town in Lancashire some 20 miles north of Manchester. His interest in music was encouraged by his mother, who bought him a clarinet when he was seven, and arranged for him to have...

.

Music composition

Lara's music has been widely played across Europe. In 2001, he was awarded the Spanish Symphony Orchestras Association Composition Prize for "Hopscotch" and, in 2003, he won first prize at the International Composition Competition

Luxembourg Sinfonietta

The Luxembourg Sinfonietta is an orchestral ensemble for contemporary music in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Initially it consisted of 10 to 15 instruments, including tuba, accordion, mandolin and harpsichord but now typically extends to clarinet, clarinet bass, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone,...

 in Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 for his piece "Dust". In 1999, he created a Contemporary Music Festival at the University of Valladolid

University of Valladolid

The University of Valladolid is a public university in the city of Valladolid, province of Valladolid, in the autonomous region of Castile-Leon, Spain...

which is now one of the most prominent in Spain.

Conductor

Lara is also the artistic director and the conductor of the University of Valladolid's Youth Orchestra (Joven Orquesta de la Universidad de Valladolid) which consists mainly of students from the university. Since 2004, with his Youth Orchestra, Lara has also successfully staged an opera every year under the Opera Project (Proyecto Ópera) which also receives support from the municipality.

Discography

• "International Composition Prize 2003, World Premiere Recordings": Francisco Lara, "Dust"; Patrick Harrex, "Hauptweg und Nebenwege"; Cristian Marina, "Density - Intensity"; Paul Robinson, "Chamber Concerto"; Kyung-Jin Han, "Dancing on a Bamboo"; Marco Carnevalini, "Riflessioni sul giallo e sul blu". Luxembourg Sinfonietta, Conductor: Marcel Wengler. CD LGNM No 403.