Composer Mark Contreras Waiss, together with soprano Sofía Kirwan-Baez and collaborator Rajmil Fischman, will explore the creative process of incorporating traditional musical elements of Peru’s culture and rich history into contemporary composition. It will discuss musical production from three drastically different environments: the Peruvian desertic Pacific Coast, the Andean highlands, and the Amazonian rainforest, as well as the presence within them of compositional principles coming from Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the pre-Hispanic Quechuan civilisation and originary peoples such as the Shipibo Conibo and Yanesha.

The talk will explore various approaches to blending folk melodies, rhythms, and cultural motifs with modern compositional techniques. It will also consider aesthetic and technical challenges, provide examples from recent works, and examine how these integrations can enrich the compositional language while preserving cultural heritage.