Rubén Penadés, new director of ARS NOVA

Tuesday 1st February 2022 – PRESS RELEASE with Mike Smith

The ARS NOVA choral group begins a new season with a new director at the helm, Rubén Penadés, who heralds a new and exciting stage for the group and has already declared that his objective will be to explore all choral styles from the Renaissance to Contemporary, arranged in an attractive and pragmatic way for the choir. “Making contemporary music can be just as fun for people more into the style as for people who aren’t”.

He has explained that the future concert programme will offer quality works, well written and with correct treatment for the voices. He is already thinking of larger projects in the long-term, such as the production of an recorded album, which could provide an important injection of energy for the group. He has also expressed a willingness to collaborate with other local groups.

In the short-term, it is his immediate connection with the choir and first impressions have been very positive and he confesses that he has been enthusiastic about joining the group. Despite the fact that he was previously aware of the choir and had already through about suitable collaborations with it, he has been surprised by the welcome he has received, the understanding of such as diverse group – age, nationality, etc. – as well as the musical and vocal quality of the choir. He also wanted to encourage those who might consider joining a choral group: “everyone can sing!”

Who is Rubén Penadés?

Born in Ontinyent in 1996, Penadés initially studied percussion before opting for a specialization in composition at the Óscar Esplá Superior Conservatory of Music in Alicante from where he graduated in 2018.

As a composer, he has a catalogue of around fifty pieces of work which have been performed and premiered by various formations such as the Municipal Band of Alicante and those of the Higher Conservatories of Valencia and Alicante, among others. His works have also been heard at various festivals, concert seasons, and competitions.

In addition, he has received several awards in the “Poble de Muro” Composition Contest for dulzaina and percussion in 2013, 2015 and 2020 as well as the recent first prize at the “Pep el Carreró” Composition Contest for the setting to music the poem ‘Autopoesía’.

At the moment, he is finishing his higher studies in Choir and Orchestra conducting at the “Joaquín Rodrigo” Superior Conservatory of Music in Valencia, work that he combines with teaching at the “Ciutat Ducal” Professional Music Centre in Gandía, in the specialties of Harmony, Analysis and Foundations of Composition

In addition, since 2019, he has been the deputy director of the Musical Artistic Union Society of Ontinyent, and recently, he has been appointed director of the “Nueva Artística” Musical Society of Anna.