QUINTANILLA, Alba

Alba Quintanilla is a Venezuelan composer. She studied harp, voice, piano, harpsichord, and orchestral conducting at the Escuela Superior de Música José Ángel Lamas. A scholarship from the Instituto Nacional de Cultura y de Bellas Artes (INCIBA) and the Ministry of Education enabled her to spend two years studying at the Warsaw Conservatory.

Subsequently, she performed in Caracas as a harpist, pianist, and harpsichordist. She conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela in a performance of her 'Tres Canciones para Mezzo-Soprano y Orquesta', becoming the first woman to conduct that orchestra. In 1967, she received the National Vocal Music Prize for 'Tres Canciones'.