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Juan Marco Albarracín (born in Buenos Aires in 1984) grew up in Neuquén, in Argentine Patagonia. He took his first steps into the world of music with his mother, a doctor and pianist, and began composing at the age of eight. Later, while studying economics at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), he privately studied composition with composers Daniel Montes and Lucas Fagin. He then pursued his higher education in Europe, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under the tutelage of Cornelis de Bondt, before completing his Master’s degrees at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp under Wim Henderickx, and at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels under the tutelage of Daniel Capelletti.
Juan Marco Albarracín’s artistic approach offers a personal solution to the limitations of tonality, rejecting the systematic transition to absolute chromaticism. By exploring the limits of harmony, voice leading, and dense counterpoint, he develops complex and dramatic musical architectures. His musical language thus approaches, conceptually, the fantastic literature and Latin American magical realism, seeking to construct a tonal stylistic universe that unfolds like a “fantasy” parallel to the “real” historical repertoire. His music does not seek to comment on or gloss past practices, but rather offers an open and demanding dialogue with Western history, constantly nourished by the rhythmic richness and dramatic nostalgia of his Argentine roots. This work is also deeply inspired by his passion for literature, finding major aesthetic points of reference in authors such as Dante, Goethe, Proust, and Borges.
A committed figure in the contemporary music scene and instrumental research, he collaborates closely with specialized performers and ensembles. His work is particularly evident within the Ricercare Collective, with whom he has already performed around ten concerts in Belgium, as well as through his collaborations with the Cairn Recorder Quartet and the Sturm! Ensemble. Active in Brussels, his chamber pieces have also been performed by ensembles such as the Erämaa Trio and the Manestri Trio as part of the Osmose Festival. He is currently collaborating with the Chilean poet Agustín Benelli on a major vocal and orchestral work, which will premiere in Concepción, Chile. In parallel, Juan Marco Albarracín is dedicated to his most ambitious and long-term creative project: the composition of Anton Bruckner’s Tenth Symphony in a decidedly personal style. He is a member of the Union of Belgian Composers.