Composer Juan Carlos Núñez has Died, Aged 76

The Venezuelan composer and conductor was hugely influential in his hometown of Caracas, and co-founded the El Sistema program

The composer and conductor Juan Carlos Núñez, who was one of the foremost Venezuelan composers, has passed away at the age of 76.

Born in Caracas in 1947, Núñez began learning the piano at the age of six, and went on to study both the piano and composition with teachers including Sergio Moreira, Vicente Emilio Sojo, Evencio Castellanos, Inocente Carreño, Moisés Moleiro, and Francisco Rodrigo at the Escuela Superior de Música José Angel Lamas.

He first came to the attention of the public in 1972, when he won the country's National Composition Prize for his work Toccata sinfónica. However, he then chose to pursue conducting, and studied with Stanislaw Wislocki in Warsaw.

Núñez returned to Caracas and established himself as a conductor, leading the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas, Orquesta Filarmónica de Caracas, Orquesta Filarmónica Nacional, and the National Youth Orchestra Juan José Landaeta.

He was also a co-founder of Venezuela's famous El Sistema program, which offers music education to children who could not otherwise afford it as a form of social action.

As composer, Núñez was at the forefront of avant-garde music in Venezuela. His music often combined contemporary techniques with improvisation and incorporated elements of popular music.

"Today maestro Juan Carlos Nuñez has passed away," wrote the Sinfónica Ayacucho on social media. "A Venezuelan master composer, pianist and conductor, his work and legacy transcend the present day. We will remember him as one of the great composers of our country."

Our condolences to Mr. Nuñez's family, friends, and colleagues.