Composer, scholar, and manager J.J. Peña Aguayo (San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1973) studied music composition at The Peabody Institute (B.M., 1996) and at The Juilliard School (M.M., 1998), and holds a Doctorate from the Universitat de València. His composition teachers were Morris Cotel, Ronald Caltabiano, Milton Babbitt, and Christopher Rouse. His musical works have been premiered and performed by orchestras, chamber groups, and soloists in concert series and festivals across the Americas and Europe, with commissions such as from the Neanderland Biennale, the Insitut Valencià de la Música, Val Tidone Competitions, the Ensems New Music Festival and the Godella Chamber Music Festival. He has been awarded prizes from ASCAP and BMI as well as in competitions such as the Gofreddo Petrassi and the Edigio Carella competitions, among others. His work is published By the Sociedad Latina de Comunicación Social, Editorial Académica Española, Bèrben and Periferia. He is currently Artistic Director of Sonamens Puerto Rico, teaches and the Conservatori Superior de Música de Castelló and has taught at the Conservatorio Superior de Alicante and at the TAI Institute in Madrid.