The score Gagaku by Ramón Humet has been chosen the winner of the 16th "Ciutat de Tarragona" International Award for Musical Composition. This was the jury’s decision after examining the thirty-two competing scores.
The prize money in this competition, organised by Tarragona City Council and sponsored by Repsol YPF and Spanish National Radio (RNE), amounts to 12,000 euros.

Gagaku, which lasts twelve minutes, is dedicated with thanks and admiration to the maestro Joan Guinjoan. The jury was made up of the musicians Tomás Marco, Héctor Parra, Vincent Paulet, Yves Prin, Zuriñe Gerenabarrena, Jean Pierre Dupuy and J. Mª Mestres-Quadreny. The winning work will be premiered in 2009 by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya.

During his career Ramón Humet has won awards such as the Montreal Olivier Messiaen International Composition Prize and the Queen Sofia and the Joaquín Rodrigo-Villa de Madrid Composition Prizes. He has received commissions for the Festival Òpera de Butxaca and the Ensemble Residencias among others.

Among his projects for the future three commissions deserve special mention, a symphony for the JONC (Joven Orquesta Nacional de Cataluña), a chamber work for the Festival Nous Sons (Oriol Aymat - Sílvia Vidal duet) and a commission from the Fundación Caixa Cataluña for the pianist Alberto Rosado.

Reported in the Diari de Tarragona and www.mundoclasico.com. Further information at www.docenotas.es y www.catradio.cat