Biography

Mikel Urquiza studies composition first at the Musikene in San Sebastian with Gabriel Erkoreka and Ramon Lazkano, then at the CNSM in Paris with Gérard Pesson. In 2019/2020 he  is first mentored by the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation, then a fellow at the Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome. As a PhD student of the SACRe doctoral program, he writes a thesis under the direction of Martin Kaltenecker, Stefano Gervasoni, and Francesca Alberti.

Throughout Europe he works with numerous ensembles, including C Barré, L’Instant Donné, Intercontemporain, Ascolta, mosaik, Musikfabrik, PHACE, UMZE, New European Ensemble, Lemniscate, mdi, Sonido Extremo and Meitar.
Deeply linked to voice, he writes several song cycles, such as Alfabet for Sarah Maria Sun, I nalt be clode on the frolt for Marion Tassou or Songs of Spam for the Neue Vocalsolisten. A new vocal work will be premiered by Exaudi at the Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2022.

His chamber music works are premiered by first-class partners, such as the Catch Trio, which played Pièges de neige at the Cologne Philharmonie, Radial System in Berlin, Resonanz Raum in Hamburg and Maison de la Radio in Paris, or the Diotima Quartet, which premiered his first string quartet Indicio at the Festival Pontino in Italy and the second string quartet Index at the Festival Musica in Strasbourg.

His piano piece Contrapluma has been performed as part of the ECHO network – from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw to the Vienna Musikverein – and has been in the selection of piano competitions Ferruccio Busoni and Concours International d’Orléans.

He collaborates with some of the main Basque and Spanish institutions for music: the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Euskadiko Orkestra, BBVA Foundation, San Sebastian Musical Fortnight, JONDE and INAEM. His music is performed at festivals such as Présences, ManiFeste, ECLAT, Ultraschall, Acht Brücken, Musikprotokoll, MATA, Gaudeamus, and the Venice Biennale.