Lebas awarded UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for Artists

Leonardo Lebas, a first-year doctor of musical arts student in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music, has been awarded the 2006-07 UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for Artists.

Lebas, who is the recipient of a Hixson-Lied graduate fellowship at UNL, will be a resident composer at the Conservatorio de Las Rosas, which is located in Morelia, Mexico, for three months from March to May. The funding is meant to provide a serious composer willing to create and meet intercultural challenges with an independent creative residency.

"I feel thrilled and deeply honored for being a UNESCO-Aschberg 2006 laureate," Lebas said. "This is fulfilling in so many different ways. I look forward to doing my best by conducting and composing during my residence in Conservatorio de Las Rosas."

While in Mexico, he will run workshops for other artists. He will also select texts by different Mexican poets and compose a choral-instrumental work based on these poems. He will also conduct choral, orchestral, and choral-symphonic Argentinean contemporary music, including his own compositions.

"One of the hallmarks of a Hixson-Lied graduate fellow is our belief that this student is likely to contribute powerfully to the national and international conversations of their discipline," said John W. Richmond, director of the School of Music. "That Leonardo has received this internationally significant invitation during his first semester of residence here confirms our belief in him and affirms his promising future both here at UNL and beyond. We could not be more proud of him."

Lebas earned master of music degrees from Penn State University in orchestral conducting, and the Catholic University of Argentina in both choral conducting and composition.

His publications include "Donde Estas?" (mixed choir a cappella) in 1995 and "Pero Que Te Pueda Ver" (mixed choir a cappella) in 2006. Lebas has written more than 25 compositions, including "Ronda" (mixed choir a cappella) in 2005, "Victor Manuel" (mixed choir a cappella) in 2005, and "The Locust" (female choir, orchestra) in 2004-2005.

Contact: Kathe Andersen, Publications Coordinator, Fine & Performing Arts, (402) 472-9355