Victor Correa-Cruz
Workshop Faculty
Violinist Víctor Correa-Cruz has developed an intense and diversified career in the United States and Europe. As a soloist, he has toured with Ceske Budegovice Symphony, University of South Carolina Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Extremadura, Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Camerata del Prado, Orquesta de Cámara de Badajoz, Orquesta de Zaragoza and “Queen Sofía” Chamber Orchestra.
He has been awarded several prizes as a chamber musician, while integrating the “Urman Piano Trio” and the “Argenta String Quartet”: Jeunesse Musicales Award, Villa de Madrid 1st Prize and Laureate at the 4th International Quartet Competition of Cremona (Italy).
He has been invited to play in major festivals in Spain (Sociedad Filarmónica de Canarias, Festival Ibérico, Fundación Juan March, Cultural Albacete, Festival de La Rioja, Ministry of Culture National Tour, Caja Madrid, Grupo Vocento, Fundación Eutherpe) and has participated in several Music Series in Europe and the USA.
Dr. Cruz has recorded music programs for the Spanish National Public Radio and has been broadcasted nationwide presenting Schubert´s Complete Works for Violin and Piano and programs of Contemporary American Chamber Music. He has premiered pieces dedicated to him by Spanish and American composers such as Juan Pérez Ribes, José L. Valderrama, Joaquín Borges, Bik Lee, and Samuel O. Douglas.
Víctor Correa-Cruz has been concertmaster of the Spanish Radio Television Orchestra, Madrid Philharmonic, Orquesta de Zaragoza, Orquesta de Extremadura, Camerata del Prado, University of South Carolina Symphony, Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid and Orquesta de Cámara de Badajoz. He has also leaded two of the most relevant Contemporary Music Ensembles in Spain: Plural Ensemble and Grupo Enigma.
He is a faculty member of the Stamford International Music Festival (England), where he teaches violin and performs with international artists every summer in Chamber Music Series defined by the press as the “European Retreat for Chamber Music”. He also performs regularly as a member of the “Laertes Piano Trio” based in Madrid. Víctor Correa-Cruz has been invited to play in European and American Festivals accompanied by Spanish pianist Paloma González. The duo will release a CD in 2011 featuring Spanish music.
Born in Spain, Víctor Correa-Cruz earned his degrees in Violin and Chamber Music at El Escorial and Madrid Conservatories, where he studied with violinist Pedro León. He was a Violin major at Indiana University (USA) where he finished his Master´s Degree as a student of Yuval Yaron and Nelli Shkolnikova, and participated in both Joseph Gingold and Franco Gulli´s master classes. Mr. Cruz also attended doctoral courses at the Escuela Superior Reina Sofía (Madrid) being a student of Zakhar Bron for two years.
He has been guided at International Workshops by other teachers such as: Uri Pianca, Lorand Fenyves, Ruggiero Ricci, Menahem Pressler, Gyorgy Sebok, Rostislav Dubinski, Georges Janzer, Piero Farulli and the Brodski Quartet.
His interest in orchestral conducting made him move to South Carolina in 2003 to earn a doctoral degree in Conducting. At this institution he was awarded the “Manuel and Rose Mary Álvarez” conducting prize.
Víctor Correa-Cruz´s talent as a conductor has been praised by the critics in many occasions. Back to Spain from the USA in 2005, he became principal conductor of the “Adolfo Salazar” Symphony Orchestra based in Madrid. Since then he has toured throughout Spain and other European countries with successful performances praised by the media. In 2010 Víctor Correa-Cruz founded the Orquesta de Cámara Extremeña, with selected musicians from Extremadura (Spain). Acting as its concertmaster/conductor, the ensemble has been acclaimed as one of the most solid and promising groups of the Spanish new generation. He has recently conducted at the International Orchestra Festival in Murcia (Spain) and he has engagements to conduct in Europe (Portugal, Poland) and North and South America (Virginia, Uruguay and Mexico) during the 2011-12 season.
Dr. Cruz is currently the chair of the String Quartet Department at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Salamanca (Spain) and teaches Violin in Madrid. His students have won several international awards. Current concertmaster of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra has come out of Mr. Cruz´s studio as well. Along with his academic activities Víctor Correa-Cruz keeps developing an intense artistic career.
