Helga Arias Parra (born in Bilbao, Spain) studied composition with Mario Garuti (Conservatorio G.Verdi Milan) and Beat Furrer (Kuntsuniversität Graz) and computer music with Javier Torres Maldonado (Conservatorio A. Boito Parma), Karlheinz Essl and Johannes Kretz (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien).
Besides, she has received individual lessons from other composers such as Michael Jarrell, Kaija Saariaho, J.B. Barrière, Georg Friedrich Haas, Pierluigi Billone, Isabel Mundry, Mark André, Toshio Hosokawa or Alberto Posadas among others and participated in masterclasses with Helmuth Lachenmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Philippe Manoury, José María Sánchez Verdú, Trevor Wishart or Daniel Teruggi.
She has been awarded in the international contest «Città di Udine», the RCSM Victoria Eugenia de Granada contest for Symphonic Orchestra, the shut up and listen! Electroacustic festival in Vienna, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik Competition 2014 , the honorary prize of the Colegio de España en Paris – INAEM 2016 and the 2nd Prize at the ACC International Composer's Competition, South Corea.
Her music has been performed in several festivals and music halls such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage (Next Generation), Manifeste Paris, Wittener Tage für
neue Kammermusik, EMUFEST Rome, Klangwerkstatt Berlin, Festival Mixtur in Barcelona, Atlantic Music Festival in Maine, USA, Foro Internacional de Musica Nueva (Mexico), Domaine Forget (Canada), Casa del Suono in Parma (Italy), Etchings Festival (France), Echoraum Vienna, Experimentalstudio Academy of the SWR Freiburg, 3rd Forum for Young Composers in Cascais (Portugal), Sonutopias 2014 (Santiago de compostela, Spain or ZKM Karlsruhe (Germany) by ensembles such as Ensemble Inercontemporain, Ensemble SurPlus, International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), The Riot Ensemble, Vertixe Sonora, Nouvelle Ensemble Moderne, ECCE ensemble, Taller Sonoro, Sond'arte electric ensemble, Ensemble Cepromusic, Ensemble Progress Berlin and others.
In 2016 she represented the Association of Basque-Navarrese Composers (Musikagileak) at the ISCM World Music Days in Tongyeong (South Korea).
She has recently finished a postgrad in Electroacoustic Composition at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Professor Karlheinz Essl, thanks to a full scholarship of the SGAE (Spanish General Society for authors and publishers).
Her music tries to establish relations between acoustic and electronic resonance as well as to explore the microscopical variations of the sound phenomena.
Her music is published by Babel Scores.
