José Beviá is an award-winning composer, pianist, and educator whose work encompasses contemporary classical music, jazz composition and arranging, orchestration, electroacoustic music, and music theory. He is Professor of Music Theory and Composition at The College of New Jersey. He received his early musical training at the Valencia Conservatory of Music, where he studied classical piano with José Luis de Prado, and subsequently studied at Berklee College of Music and Florida State University, where he earned the Doctor of Music degree in Music Theory and Composition.
Dr. Beviá studied composition with Ladislav Kubík and Mark Wingate, electroacoustic music with Gabrielle Vanoni, and jazz piano with Marcus Roberts and Bill Peterson. His professional development has also included composition seminars with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Zwilich and jazz composer Bill Holman, as well as participation in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop from 2006 to 2009, where he studied with Michael Abene, Jim McNeely, and Mike Holober. In 2012–2013, he participated in the American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute at UCLA and Columbia University, under the direction of George Lewis.
His compositions and orchestrations have been performed internationally by distinguished ensembles and artists, including the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Spano, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Michoacán, Sydney Contemporary Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, and the Millennium Jazz Orchestra. His works have been commissioned by the BMI Foundation Charlie Parker Composition Prize, Ferdiko Piano Duo, harpist Arielle, and the Santo Domingo Flute Project in the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Beviá’s music has been presented at international festivals, conferences, and academic institutions throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. His work has been featured at the Czech-American Music Summer Institute in Prague; the College Music Society International Conference in Seoul, South Korea; the American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute at UCLA; the NYC Electro-Acoustic Music Festival; the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers Conference in Austin; and the Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans.
His international artistic appointments include residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and the Visby International Centre for Composers in Sweden, as well as a Visiting Artist and Scholar appointment at the American Academy in Rome. His compositions are published internationally by the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press. His discography includes recordings of his orchestral and contemporary classical music with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and the North Czech Philharmonic, as well as a 2024 jazz trio recording featuring drummer Ronen Itzik and bassist Matt Dwonszyk.
As a performer, Dr. Beviá has collaborated with prominent American and European jazz musicians including Leon Anderson, Rodney Jordan, Karl Latham, Doug Beavers, Ronen Itzik, Matt Dwonszyk, Bryan Copeland, Peter Slavov, Paul Creel, Donovan Cheatham, James Robbins, Andrés Lizón, Esteve Pi, Karles Perez, Simone Zaniol, Santi Greco, Ramón Ángel Rey, and Sergio Albacete; and has appeared at venues and festivals including the Sant Joan Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2024, he composed the original music for La Festa, a film by acclaimed Spanish directors Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and Pablo Más.
Dr. Beviá’s distinctions include the 2007 Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, the 2011 Lee Ettelson Composer’s Award, the 2014 Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the 2010 International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition. His work reflects a sustained engagement with contemporary classical music, jazz, and electroacoustic music, combining rigorous compositional craft with an expansive international perspective.