Liova Bueno

Liova Formal HeadshotDescribed as a versatile and prolific composer, Liova Bueno's music is performed in concerts and music festivals internationally, from countries in Central and South America to Europe, the United States and across Canada. He has received commissions from and has collaborated with various ensembles, including Cuarteto de Cuerdas de Bellas Artes (Mexico) (formerly Cuarteto Chroma), the Trio Dominicano (Dominican Republic), the Vaughan String Quartet (Edmonton, AB), Vox Humana Chamber Choir (Victoria, BC), the Vancouver Peace Choir (Vancouver, BC), the Victoria Choral Society (Victoria, BC), the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic), BRNO Contemporary Orquestra (Czech Republic), the Illinois Modern Ensemble (Illinois), the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil of the Dominican Republic, members of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of the Dominican Republic, and members of the Victoria Symphony. He has worked with various conductors and soloists including Darwin Aquino, Stanislav Vavrinek, Pavel Šnajdr, Brian Wismath, Pierre Strauch, Patricia Kostek, Mark McGregor, Robert Ward and Alexander Dunn.

In 2005, Liova was a founding member of Musicabierta, a seminal collective of Dominican composers and musicians dedicated to presenting and generating new interest in contemporary music. The group's sponsorship from the Dominican Ministry of Culture led to premieres of various works by Liova, which were also featured in international festivals such as the Atempo Festival (Caracas; Paris) and Juventud Caribeña: Música Sínfonica y Coral del Caribe (Caribbean-U.S.-Central/South America).

Since emigrating to Canada, Liova has been increasingly in demand as a composer. He has received commissions to write for orchestra, chamber ensembles (vocal and instrumental), symphonic choir, and chamber choir, and his works have been commissioned for and/or featured at events including the Victoria Symphony New Music Festival, the Northwest Guitar Festival (Seattle), the Victoria Choral Society's 80th Anniversary Celebration, the Habitat III U.N. Convention (Quito, Ecuador), the University of Victoria School of Music's 50th Anniversary (Victoria), and concerts for Canada's bi-centennial celebrations (Victoria). In the 2015/16 season, Liova held the position of Composer-in-Residence for the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil of the Dominican Republic.

In 2009, Liova was a guest lecturer ("The Effects of Post-Reconstruction Socio-Politics on the Arts in 19th and 20th-Century America") at The Organization of American States (Washington, D.C.). In 2017, his music was the focus of a presentation with musicologist Iain S. Gillis at the 23rd International Kodály Society Symposium "Singing the Circle/Cycle du chant" ('Deep comprehension of the spirit': exploring the Dominican quintuplet at different structural levels in the music of Dominican-Canadian composer Liova Bueno), and in 2018 a related essay ("On the Quintuplet and Cinquillo in the Music of Dominican-Canadian Composer Liova Bueno") was published in the Bulletin of the International Kodály Society (Vol. 43, No. 1). Liova has been cited as one of the present Dominican-born generation's significant contributors to both composition and music education (Music Education in the Caribbean and Latin America: A Comprehensive Guide; ed. Raymond Torres-Santos: 2017). He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre and member of the Canadian League of Composers.

Upcoming commissions, premieres, and recordings include works for orchestra, string quartet, orchestra, guitar (concerto and suite), voice and guitar, and a song cycle for baritone, mezzo-soprano and piano. A recording of Liova's orchestral work "Two Moods: Dusk and Carnaval" was released in 2022 on the Navona Records label, digitally distributed via the Naxos catalogue. New releases are Lluvia (Rain) for string quartet and Piccola Serenata for chamber orchestra.

Since 2005, Liova has taught a variety of musical subjects in teaching positions in both the Dominican Republic and Canada. His most significant positions have been: teacher and music department head at the Dominican American School (Dominican-American Cultural Institute, 2005-2010) where he taught Orff and Kodàly classes, orchestra, band, choir, music theory and history; post-secondary history and pedagogy instructor (Dominican-American Cultural University, 2007-2010); and post-secondary faculty member in the Victoria Conservatory of Music/Camosun College Music Diploma Program teaching Tonal Harmony and Counterpoint (2014-2021). He has also taught song-writing, music theory, music appreciation, and composition covering a wide variety of musical styles, genres, and time periods, at schools including: the Dominican Ministry of Culture; Con Brio Music; and the Ann & George Nation Conservatory School of Classical Music (Victoria Conservatory of Music). Liova presently teaches select composition students privately.

Liova is based in Victoria, B.C., where he lives with his singer wife, melodious daughter and cooing son.