MarÃa Elena Barrientos was born in Mérida, in the Mexican state of Yucatán. She studied the piano and harp at the Mexican Conservatorio Nacional de Música, where she was a pupil of Rodolfo Halffter in musical analysis. She served as first harpist and pianist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de México and the Orquesta de la Ãpera, also appearing as a piano soloist. In 1964 she won the Ernestina Hevia del Puerto prize and in 1965 the first prize of the Bernard Flavigny Panamerican Piano Competition, travelling in 1967 to Paris on a scholarship. There she studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique and with Yvonne Loriod. 1971 brought her first prize in the Royan Olivier Messiaen International Contemporary Music Competition. Her career continued with appearances at the Shiraz Festival and concerts in various musical centres in Europe. Since 1972 she has lived in Spain, appearing as a soloist, participating in chamber music and in the promotion of contemporary music with the Grupo Koan, under the direction of José Ramón Encinar. In addition to her activities as a teacher, she has also served on the jury of the New Olivier Messiaen Competition, under Yvonne Loriod Messiaen.
