BIOGRAPHY
Alexandre Lunsqui was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After ten years based in New York City, he returned to Brazil as Professor of Composition and Theory at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP. He studied at the University of Campinas (BM), University of Iowa (MA), Columbia University (DMA), and IRCAM (year-long cursus of composition and computer music). He studied with Tristan Murail, Jose Augusto Mannis, Fred Lerdahl, and Jeremy Dale-Roberts. Other important teachers were maestro Cyro Pereira, Rafael dos Santos, Hilton Jorge Valente, Ziara Brant de Carvalho and Donald Martin Jenni. His music background also included jazz and contemporary improvisation.
He has participated in Festivals such as Gaudeamus Music Week, Contact!, New York Phil Biennial, Darmstadt, Manca, CrossDrumming, Aspekte, Time of Music, Musica Nova, Beijing Modern, Music at the Anthology, Creative Music Festival, Festival Presences, PASIC, and Resonances. His pieces have been played in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, Wales, and around the US, by ensembles such as the Ensemble Aleph, Arditti String Quartet, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble PianoPossibile, Ensemble Cairn, Due East, Ensemble counter)induction, Ensemble Dal Niente, Manhattan Sinfonietta, Camerata Aberta, Camerata Latino-Americana, New Mexico Contemporary Ensemble, Purchase Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble L’Arsenale, Loadbang Ensemble, Hanatsu-miroir, Ensemble Proton bern, New York Philharmonic, New York New Music Ensemble, Filarmonica Bachiana, Ensemble Platypus, NIU Bau House, Nieuw Ensemble Amsterdam, Talea Ensemble, Talujon, Third Coast Percussion, MATA micro-orchestra, Lucerne Academy Alumni, Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional, Orquestra de Camara de Curitiba, Orquestra de Camera da Universidade de Sao Paulo (OCAM), Grupo PIAP, Ensemble Reconsil Viena, International Contemporary Ensemble, Timetable Percussion, among others.
He has been awarded the Virtuose Prize given by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil and the “Funarte Premio de Musica Classica” given for his orchestral work Linea.Reflexio. A monographic CD with his chamber music was released in Spring 2008 – the project received the Petrobras Cultural Award. A CD featuring four composers from Sao Paulo was released in Fall 2008 by the Gravina Label. He received a Fromm Commission from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University (2009-2010), was a Civitella Ranieri Fellow (Italy, 2014) and the Composer-in-Residence for the 2014 Chelsea Music Festival (NYC). Recently, Lunsqui has been awarded a Koussevitzky Commission 2016 (New York New Music Ensemble), a “Commande d’Etat” by the French Ministere de la Culture (Ensemble Cairn), the ProAC award by the Secretaria do Estado da Cultura from Sao Paulo (Ensemble Zephyrus), an ACADEMY of ARTS AND LETTERS AWARD (2020), and the GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP (2020).