Description
This piece for SATB saxophone quartet uses both a classical prelude and fugue form and elements of Cuban folk music. Doris Magaly Ruiz Lastres was born in Santa Clara, Cuba, in 1941 . In 1981 she graduated with a degree in Composition from the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana, where she studied with Harold Gramatges, CÉsar PÉrez Sentenat, JosÉ ArdÉvol, FÉlix Guerrero, Alfredo Diez Nieto, Dolores Torres and Roberto Valera.
Since then, she has worked as a Professor at the Instituto as well as at the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique JosÉ Varona and the provincial school of music, Amadeo Roldán. She has been worked for many years as technical advisor of the subject Harmony in the Dirección Nacional de Enseñanza Artística, and technical advisor in the Centro para la Investigación y Desarrollo de la Música Cubana.
Her curriculum is published in prestigious dictionaries such as The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and «Diccionario Iberoamericano de la Música».
Several of her compositions are included as part of the curriculum of the leading music education institutions in Cuba, among them, the Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán, the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana, the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique JosÉ Varona and Conservatorio Alejandro Garcia Caturla. Her compositions have been performed at many festivals such as the International Musical Festival, Festival de La Habana, Festival Boleros de Oro, International Festival of Contemporary Music, the International Festival Donne in Musica in Fiuggi, Italy and the Festival Sounds of Americas, New York, United States. She has received the First Award in the music contests Concurso "La Edad de Oro", Concurso de la Dirección Nacional de Enseñanza Artística, Concurso Amadeo Roldán and the Concurso de la Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba.
She has also been awarded several medals and honours, among them The Medalla por la Educación Cubana, Medalla al MÉrito Pedagógico, Medalla JosÉ Tey, Distinción Especial of the Cuban Ministry of Education, and the Premio Anual de Composición of the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba for lifetime achievement.