2025 Composition Program
Valencia International Performance Academy and Festival, July 9-18, 20252025 Festival Quick Facts
Composition Faculty
- Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann, VIPA Composition Director
Ithaca College | Ithaca, NY - Amy Williams, University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA
- Evis Sammoutis Eastman School of Music | Rochester, NY
- Miguel Angel Berbis, Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo | Valencia, Spain
- Emmanuel Berrido, VIPA Executive Director, University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA
Ensembles in Residence
- Mivos Quartet
- VICE — Valencia International Contemporary Ensemble
No application fee if you apply before February 1, 2025.
Each student will compose a new piece to be rehearsed and premiered in a public concert during VIPA Festival
Students will receive lessons from members of the Composition Faculty
All pieces will be audio recorded and delivered to each student after the festival (video recording purchased separately)
Students can take active part in electronic music workshops with Prof. Miguel Angel Berbis.
About the Program
Overview
The 2025 edition of the Composition Program at the Valencia International Performing Arts Summer & Festival will showcase the music of emerging and established composers and offer qualified composition program participants the opportunity to work with the VIPA Composition Program faculty members and performers in lessons, workshops, and masterclasses.
In addition, participants will have the opportunity have one piece performed by our resident performers at one of the VIPA concerts.
VIPA will also offer workshops and/or panel discussions on special topics. Participants will be able to get feedback from faculty members during reading sessions with soloists and ensembles-in-residence.
The program will take place on July 9-18, 2025, at the facilities of the Conservatorio Superior “Joaquin Rodrigo” in the beautiful city of Valencia, Spain. Boasting a breathtaking coastline, a vibrant cultural life and world-class cuisine, Valencia is one of the most sought-after summer destinations in Europe.
Participants and Auditors Welcome!
Composition candidates for the VIPA Composition Program must either be enrolled at a college-level degree-granting institution or higher, or hold one such degree to be eligible for participation at VIPA 2025, although some exceptions could be accepted if enough level of accomplishment is proven.
As a COMPOSITION PARTICIPANT, you will receive private lessons from each member of the composition faculty. Your participation also allows you unlimited attendance to all lectures and workshops and participation in reading sessions with the resident ensembles and soloists. Participants also have access to free admission to all recitals, concerts, and masterclasses happening at VIPA.
Each participant will be commissioned to write a piece, ranging from solo to ensemble, to be premiered by one of VIPA’s ensembles-in-residence. Commission assignments will be made by the Director of Composition by early March. The deadline for the submission of the score and parts will be June 10, 2025. Technical abilities for the performance of works with electronics will be discussed with the composers, but shall be generally limited to stereo (2-channel diffusion).
Participants will also have the opportunity to workshop their work with the performers during rehearsals of their piece. All concerts for the 2025 VIPA Composition Program will be professionally recorded and participants will receive an audio recording after the end of the festival.
AUDITORS are entitled to observe lessons, classes, and all other VIPA events but will not receive lessons or have a piece performed.
IMPORTANT NOTE: VIPA alumni can be auditors AT NO COST!!
Application to the 2025 VIPA festival
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Apply to VIPA Composition by February 1st, 2025 without any application fee!
Late applications will be accepted until March 1st, 2025 with a non-refundable application fee of €30.
For late applicants, application fees are payable through PayPal and must be paid before applications are reviewed.
SUBMISSION MATERIALS:
All application materials are to be sent electronically through the Composition Application Form. Please provide direct links to all your PDF, audio and/or video files. You will not be able to upload any files into the application.
PDF, audio, or video files should be uploaded to platforms such as YouTube, Dropbox, Google Drive, or SoundCloud, etc., or on any personal hosting space.
CURRICULUM VITAE, RESUME and BIO in PDF (include: educational background, schools, teachers, degrees, awards, prizes, previous festivals attended, and any relevant performances and/or professional experience). A link to your bio in your personal website can also be accepted.
TWO (maximum) REPRESENTATIVE SCORES in PDF files and audio or video recordings (if available). VIPA encourages all participants to write new works to be premiered by one of our ensembles-in-residence during the festival; however, if you would like to have an existing work performed, submit it as one of the two representative scores and make note of this on the application form. Preexisting works may be scored for string quartet of for any subset of the resident ensemble (ranging from solo to the full ensemble) and be not longer than seven (7) minutes in duration.
Please indicate your preferred ensemble/instrumentation for your new work (see options below for the 2025 ensembles in residency). We will make every effort to honor your fist choice but cannot guarantee it. The proposed instrumentation for you new work will be included in the acceptance letter.
Pieces composed for the VIPA Festival will be for one of the following groups:
Option A: Mivos Quartet (2 violins, viola, violoncello)
Option B (1-4 players): VICE (available ensemble – in full or a subset – will be assigned by the director of the Composition Program)
Please see the “Electronics” section below for specifications regarding available equipment for electronics.
ELECTRONICS: Works involving electronics are eligible for performance at VIPA. If the work is selected, we will provide equipment for stereo (2-channel) diffusion, including speakers, a USB-C audio interface (composers need to provide any adapters necessary for this interface to work with their computer), and the necessary cables for connection between the interface and the speakers. Composers intending to use electronics will be expected to bring their own laptop, all necessary software, any extra hardware needed beyond this support, and to run their own patch/software with minimal technical assistance of a staff member. At this moment we’re unable to provide amplification/sound reinforcement, but we may arrange for this if planned enough in advance.
SELECTION PROCESS: Members of the composition faculty will review your work and CV. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance shortly after the first deadline (February 1) and given the specific instrumentation for their new work. VIPA cannot guarantee the availability of spots past the late March 1 deadline, so we encourage you to apply by the first deadline. Scores and parts for the finalised new works are due June 10, 2025. The composition program will accept a limited number of participants. Further conditions of participation will be specified in the acceptance letter. Questions may be directed to: [email protected].
Tuition and Housing
- Composition Participant: 1,440€
- Auditor: 150€ (free for VIPA alumni)
SPECIAL DISCOUNT!! Previous VIPA Composition Festival participants will receive a cumulative 150€ tuition reduction for EACH year attended! (max. 3 years discount)
A non-refundable deposit of 700€ is due upon notification of acceptance and will be credited toward tuition.
The cost of tuition includes: participant status, performance of your work, audio recordings, lessons, masterclasses, workshops and reading sessions. There’s an optional 175€ fee for a professionally-edited video with multi-camera angle. Interested parties should message [email protected] for information.
METHOD OF PAYMENT: Upon acceptance to the program, participants will receive instructions as to how to make payments through either bank transfer or credit card. Any bank transaction fees are the responsibility of the student.
HOUSING: VIPA encourages (but does not require) students to get the tuition+accommodation bundle, as prices in Valencia have a tendency to be significantly higher in summer. There are only a limited number of rooms available to VIPA students, so the sooner you book once you’re accepted, the more possibilities you’ll have to get one!
The lodging package for VIPA Composition students includes 11 nights (July 8 to July 19) at Micampus Student Residence, in rooms with a private bathroom and kitchen.
- Single room: 671€
- Double room: 473€/person
Please note that this is a complete package and no additional nights can be added or subtracted.
More information about Micampus can be found here.
2025 Composition Faculty
Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann
Faculty, Composition Program Director
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
Amy Williams
Faculty
University of Pittsburg
Pittsburg, PA
Evis Stammoutis
Faculty
Eastman School of Music
Rochester, NY
Emmanuel Berrido
Faculty, VIPA Festival Executive Director
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Miguel Angel Berbis
Faculty, Computer Music
Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo
Valencia, Spain
Ensembles-in-Residence
Resident ensembles for the Composition Program will be, once again, the critically-acclaimed Mivos Quartet (New York, USA), and our genuine VICE (Valencia International Contemporary Ensemble). They will be featured in several concerts during the 2025 festival where all works from our selected students will be premiered and audio recorded. Both ensembles are highly experienced and renowned for their dedication to bringing VIPA students’ works to life, resulting in outstanding performances and exceptional recordings. Their meticulous approach ensures that all composers leave the program fully satisfied with the care and professionalism given to their pieces.
Students will create works for Mivos Quartet in full, and for VICE in either full ensemble, trio or duo combinations, to be assigned by the Composition Program director, at the time of acceptance to the Festival.
Mivos Quartet
New York, USA
Valencia International Contemporary Ensemble
Valencia, Spain
The Mivos Quartet
The Mivos String Quartet, based in New York, is one of the world’s foremost contemporary music ensembles, celebrated for their virtuosity and dedication to new music. They have collaborated with leading composers globally, premiering numerous works and expanding the string quartet repertoire. Known for their precision and expressiveness, Mivos consistently delivers dynamic performances that captivate audiences. Their commitment to education and emerging composers makes them a vital part of the modern music landscape.
Olivia De Prato
Violin
Maya Bennardo
Violin
Victor Lowrie Tafoya
Viola
Nathan Watts
Cello
The Valencia International Contemporary Ensemble
This distinguished ensemble, created at VIPA during last decade, features an extraordinary lineup of artists, including clarinetist Luis Fernández Castelló (Naxos Recording Artist; Spain), cellist Mariel Roberts (Wet Ink Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble; USA), pianist Dimitri Vassilakis (Ensemble Intercontemporain, Paris, France), and percussionist Juanjo Llopico (Synergein Project, Ensemble d’Arts).
Mariel Roberts
Cello
New York, NY, USA
Luis Fernández Castelló
Clarinet
Valencia, Spain
Dimitri Vassilakis
Piano
Paris, France
Juanjo Llopico
Percussion
Valencia, Spain
Testimonials
With one of the distinguished artists and faculties, I was enchanted such a wonderful experiences. For me, The Festival shouldn’t belonging in only one Musical Aspect and Peoples but in VIPA is different. Expanding new horizons of musical worlds always start with when Composers, Performers speak their valuable experiences and knowledges, not for self-esteem but trying to sharing for all of us. It’s unexchangeable and couldn’t gain without time-spending on conversation with those amazing artists. This tremendous 10 days never makes disappointed out for whom trying to looking applications, and guarantee for spending in passionate country and all musicians flew from all over the world. Recommend for all composers.
VIPA gave me the opportunity to work with dedicated musicians who brought my work to life with great attention to detail. I have always found the conversations with faculty and fellow composers–often held at the most incredible restaurants in town–inspiring and encouraging. Additionally, I received one of the most comprehensive packages of video and audio recordings I’ve ever received from a composer’s festival. The mix already sounds wonderful, but there is also the option for me to do a remix from recordings of multiple mic positions, taken during dress rehearsal and the performance. I truly appreciate their effort of documenting all the hard work that was put into creating the piece. I would love to come back for more!
I have spent a fantastic 10-day in Valencia, Spain this past summer. From the rewarding guest lectures to inspiring participant presentations, from the amazing performances to the equally contemporary and historical sceneries of Valencia, as a composer, VIPA is a remarkable program for me to grow and cultivate a unique compositional approach to sound.
The VIPA festival provides an invaluable experience for the aspiring composer. The connections built between and knowledge gained from the students, faculty and ensembles will have lasting impacts in the pursuit of a career in music.
Fellows at VIPA get to engage with world-class performers like Erik Drescher, the Mivos Quartet, and Ensemble Interface, allowing participants to cultivate important connections. The energy, care, and guidance they provided made for smooth rehearsals and performances. I am also grateful for having been encouraged to explore new media – it was at VIPA that I gained the confidence to incorporate electronics into my music. I think the most important part of my experience, though, as a woman composer, was the strong female presence at VIPA – for the first time I witnessed in a festival more than 3 people, who identified as female, as attendees. This small facet allowed a conversation and empower fellows to discuss diversity issues within the new music scene. My time at VIPA was invaluable, and I would definitely encourage all young artists to attend.
