Gabriela Ortiz
• One of Mexico’s most prominent composers today, with an international career that includes recent commissions from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
• Rhythmically driven musical language synthesizes high art, folk music, and jazz in novel, sophisticated ways
• Her music, which includes works for chamber ensemble, orchestra, opera, dance, and cinema, frequently addresses gender and racial issues, social justice, and environmental concerns
• Awards include the National Prize for Arts and Literature, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, the Fulbright Fellowship, and Banff Center for the Arts Residency
Works by Gabriela Ortiz include:
Téenek (2017) for orchestra
Antrópolis (2019) for orchestra
Yanga (2019) for choir, percussion quartet and orchestra
Altar de Cuerda (2022) for violin and orchestra
For more information and sound samples, please visit www.gabrielaortiz.com.
Looking Ahead: This September, Ortiz’s Clara receives its UK premiere with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Domingo Hindoyan (Sep 8), followed by the Dutch premiere of Antrópolis with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Stanislav Kochanovsky (Sep 16-18).
Ortiz’s Kauyumari for orchestra, which premiered in 2021 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has already entered the repertoire of multiple American orchestras, and features on several programs this fall: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. The acclaimed Mexico-based Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria, led by Carlos Miguel Prieto, also performs the piece on its coast-to-coast US tour in October.
The LA Phil presents two Ortiz world premieres as part of the inagural California Festival, led by Gustavo Dudamel: an orchestral version of her 2002 Seis piezas para Violeta (Nov 10-12), and her new ballet, Revolución diamantina (Nov 16-19).
“Gabriela is one of the most talented composers in the world—not only in Mexico, not only in our continent—in the world. Her ability to bring colors, to bring rhythm and harmonies that connect with you is something beautiful, something unique.”
—Gustavo Dudamel
