Maia Ciobanu


Maia Ciobanu is a Romanian composer and music educator. She is also the author of books, studies and papers on music.

Early years

Maia Ciobanu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and studied at the Conservatory Ciprian Porumbescu. She studied composition with Dan Constantinescu and Myriam Marbe and piano with Aurora Ienei, and also studied with Ştefan Niculescu, Mircea Chiriac, Liviu Comes and Aurel Stroe. In 1980 she visited at the Darmstadt summer courses, and studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough, Gérard Grisey, Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Peter Haller, Włodzimierz Kotoński and Tristan Murail. In 1995 she studied at the Swedish Academy of Music in Gothenburg.

Career

Since 1992 Ciobanu has been musical director of the Group for Alternative Contemporary Music. In 1993 she became a professor at the Bucharest Theatre and Film School, and has taught courses on contemporary Romanian music at music academies in Gothenburg and Cologne, at the Pedagogical College of Rorschach and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Ciobanu won Honorable Mention at the "International Composition Contest – Mannheim GEDOK" in Germany, the Romanian Academy "George Enescu Prize", the Romanian Composers' Association Prize and "The Order for Cultural Achievements" medal.
Ciobanu was president of the Romanian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music between 2002 and 2003, and is the founder and editor of the English-language journal Contemporary Music – Romana Newsletter of the section. Ciobanu is also active in publishing and produces music programs for Romanian radio. She is a member of the Romanian Composers Union, the International League of Women Composers, the International Computer Music Association and the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique.

Selected works

Ciobanu's recorded work includes: