A French-Argentinian composer, considered to be one of the most prominent of his generation, he was born in Buenos Aires on 24 August 1949.

His studies in Argentina were divided between music and psychology. After completing his general music training Campana went on to study composition with Jacobo Ficher (1968-1975) and psychology at the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, where he graduated in 1974.

In receipt of a bursary from the French government he decided to settle in Paris, where he completed his training as a composer (1979-1985) with Ivo Malec for composition, Betsy Jolas for analysis and both Pierre Schaeffer and Guy Reibel for electroacoustic techniques.

At the same time he continued studying computer assisted music (CAM) at IrcamGRM (Group for Musical Research) in Paris. In addition, he attended classes at the Paris Conservatory and took part in masterclasses at IRCAM given by Boulez, Ferneyhough, Donatoni, Huber, Dutilleux, Stockhausen, Boucourechliev, Harvey and Xenakis.

In 1984 Campana was chosen by the Paris Conservatory to attend classes led by Franco Donatoni and Hans Werner Henze in the Accademia Chigiana, Sienna.
The following year, the French Ministry of Culture awarded him a research scholarship to study applied music.

Between 1986 and 1992 he taught analysis and the interpretation of contemporary music at the Paris Conservatory.

In 1993 (with the collaboration of Gérard Charbonneau), he founded ARCEMA (a workshop for research, creation and the teaching of present day music) in the electronics laboratory of the University of Orsay Paris XI. ARCEMA has brought together soloists of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre de Paris and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, as well as teachers and students of the Paris Conservatory.
Campana was its artistic director from 1993 to 2008.

José Luis Campana has taken part in round-table discussions and given masterclasses and seminars on music composition at the following institutions :
Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (Germany), IRCAM and GRM (Paris), Paris and Lyons Conservatories, ‘Franz Liszt Musikhochschule’ (Weimar), ‘Mozarteum’ (Salzburg), ‘Rencontres Franco-Allemandes’ (Bremen, Germany), Centre for Contemporary Art (Seville, Spain), Universidad Católica (Argentina), Université d’Orsay Paris XI, Université de Saint Denis Paris VIII and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris), Universidad de Monterrey and Mexico D.F., Universidad Nacional de Santiago de Chile, Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao, Spain), Alessandria Conservatory (Italy), Bordeaux and St. Étienne Regional Conservatories (France), Université ‘Michel de Montaigne’ (Bordeaux, France), Buenos Aires Conservatory, Teatro Colón and Centro Cultural ‘Recoleta’ (Buenos Aires), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina), etc.

He has won first prizes in various international composition competitions, including :
‘The Young Generation in Europe’, 1985 (organised by the Venice Biennale, the WDR of Cologne and the Festival d’Automne, Paris), ‘Antidogma Musica’ in 1983 (Turin, Italy), ‘K. Serocki’ in 2002 (Warsaw, Poland), ‘Francis Civil’in  2001 (Girona, Spain), ‘Andrés Gaos’ in 2005 (Coruña-Galicia, Spain), ‘Citta de Tarragona’ in 2006 (Spain). He was also awarded the ‘Georges Enesco’ Prize by the SACEM (France) in 1990 for his work as a whole.

Campana has also won second prizes and special awards at other international composition competitions, such as :
‘Goffredo Petrassi’ Orchestra Sinfónica dell’Emilia-Romagna – Arturo Toscanini in 1993 (Parma), ‘Joaquin Turina’ in 2001 (Seville), ‘Leonard Bernstein’ in 1997 (Jerusalem) (presided over by Luciano Berio, no prize was awarded), ‘G.B. Viotti’ in 1976 (Vercelli), ‘XXV Concorso Internationale de Compositione Sinfonica Città de Trieste’ in 1986, ‘Eduard Grieg Memorial Competition for Composers’ The Oslo Grieg Society in 2002, etc.

José Luis Campana has received commissions from the following :
French Ministry of Culture, Radio France Orchestre Philharmonique, INA-GRM (Paris), Ciclo ‘Alla Breve’ Radio France, Festival of Donaueschingen Radio Baden Baden (Germany), Radio Bremen (Germany), ‘Présences’ Radio France, Paris and Lyons Conservatories, Pierre Boulez for his work D’un geste apprivoisé…, (IRCAM production), ‘Musiques Nouvelles’ (Metz) and ‘Musiques Nouvelles’ (Forbach), the ensembles L’Itinéraire and Proxima Centauri, the OFF (French Flute Orchestra), Wind Band of Aulnay-sous-Bois (France), Sinfonia Finlandia Syvaskyla (Helsinki, Finland), TM+, Accroche Note and 2e2m, ‘Aujourd’hui Musiques’ festival (Perpignan, France), etc.

His works have premiered or been performed at prestigious contemporary music events such as :
Festival of Donaueschingen (Germany), ‘Rencontres Franco-Allemandes’ Radio Bremen (Germany), solo concert cycle of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Espace de Projection (IRCAM, Paris),  Nuova Consonanza (Roma), Royal Festival Hall (London), ‘Musica’ (Strasburg), Mozarteum (Salzburg), WDR (Cologne), Verdi Festival (Parma), ‘Musiques Nouvelles’ (Metz) and ‘Musiques Nouvelles’ (Forbach, France), Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (Germany), Kunst-Museum (Bonn), festivals ‘Gaudeamus’ and ‘Ijsbreker’ (Amsterdam), 15th International Festival of Experimental Music (Bourges, France), Alte Oper Frankfurt (Germany), Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), WMD (World Music Days) in Copenhagen, Hong Kong and Zurich, International Encounters of CDMC on the theme ‘Contemporary Music’ in New Zealand, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Teatro Municipal (Santiago, Chile), Universidad de Monterrey y Mexico D.F., Université d’Orsay Paris XI and Université de Saint Denis Paris VIII (‘Computer Music Cycle’), ‘Recoleta’ Cultural Centre (Buenos Aires), Carnegie Hall (New York, USA), University of Madison (Wisconsin, USA), ‘Georges Pompidou’ Centre (Paris), Radio France INA-GRM (Paris), National Theatre of Fribourg, ‘Antidogma Musica’ (Turin), Palacio de la Opera (Coruna, Galicia, Spain), ‘Camps de Mars’ (Tarragona, Spain), Mozart Festival (Salsomaggiore, Italy), Warsaw Radio, Smash Festival (Salamanca, Spain), Miscelania Auditorium (Barcelona), Mexican Centre for the Aural Arts (Mexico), CDMC (Contemporary Music Documentation Centre) in Paris, Zagreb Biennale, Halles des Chartrons (Bordeaux, France), concert season of the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble (Vienna), Salle Gaveau (Paris), ‘Les Halles’ Auditorium (Paris), The Hague Conservatory (Netherlands), ‘Electroacoustic Music’ at Arizona University directed by Jeffrey Lyman (USA), ‘Aujourd’hui Musiques’ Festival, Perpignan (France), Electroacoustic Festival of Brooklyn University (New York, USA), Central University (Miami, USA), etc.

Campana has composed works for chamber ensemble, chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra (with or without soloists and with or without chorus), mixed music (electroacoustic), electronic music, and acoustic and electroacoustic music for training instrumentalists.

Jose Luis Campana’s works are published by BABELSCORES, Gérard Billaudot and Henri Lemoine (Paris) and are available on web. Site.