Composer Gerardo Guevara has Died, Aged 94

Guevara was an award-winning Ecuadorian composer, pianist, and conductor

Gerardo Guevara was born Luis Gerardo Guevara Viteri in 1930 in Quito, Ecuador. Showing an affinity for music from an early age, he began studying composition during his teen years with Luis Humberto Salgado. 

He also trained with Julio Villamar, Corsino Duran, and Julia Espinosa in oboe, violin, and piano performance. In 1952, Guevera went on to study composition and the music of Bartók with Jorge Aq. 

For over a decade from 1959, he traveled to France on an UNESCO grant and studied composition with Nadia Boulanger, as well as conducting at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and musicology at the University of La Sorbonne.

On his return to Ecuador in 1972, he formed the choir of Quito’s Central University and created the Society of Ecuadorian Authors and Composers (SAYCE).

In the following years, he served as conductor of the Ecuadorian National Symphony Orchestra. From 1980 to 1988, he was director of Quito’s Conservatorio Superior Nacional de Música, where he taught composition and Ecuadorian music history. 

Among his multiple achievements included the 1993 Eugenio Espejo National Prize from the Ecuadorian Government, and the 2002 publication of his book, “History of the Music of Ecuador.”

“The Secretariat of Culture extends its condolences to the departure of Maestro Gerardo Guevara, the last nationalist composer of academic music in the history of our country,” the government division posted on Facebook. “Our thoughts are with all his family at this difficult time.”

“We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends and relatives for such an irreparable loss,” wrote the head of the Universidad Nacional de Educación, Rebecca Castellanos on Facebook. “Those of us who make up the UNAE university community share our feelings of regret and join the pain that engrambs their loved ones. We hope you find comfort, strength and resilience in these difficult times.”

Our condolences to Mr. Guevera’s family, friends, students, and colleagues.