Paul Desenne

Paul Xavier Desenne Hable (7 December 1959 – 20 May 2023) was a Venezuelan cellist and composer.

Biography Desenne was born on 7 December 1959, in Caracas, where he was also raised. In 1977, he was a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, for whom he later became the resident composer. He studied composition for 11 years in Paris. He won first prize in cello performance at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. After returning from Paris, Desenne joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and was El Sistema's resident composer.

In 2002, Desenne took a sabbatical from teaching and performance to concentrate on composition. by Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

In 2006, Desenne became a Fellow at Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009. He wrote a weekly column on music for the Venezuelan national newspaper El Nacional.

On 20 May 2023, Desenne died from a heart attack in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 63. His widow Carmen Liliana Rojas Marulanda survives him. "The Two Seasons of the Caribbean Tropics" (2003), Palenkumbé (2007), an overture incorporating Latin rhythms and folk songs Gran Cacelorazo (2010), a piece for piano, percussion, and strings "Life of Benjamin: a Monkey Symphony" (2015) Symphony No. 5 (2016)