Gabriela Ortiz

Gabriela Ortiz (born 1964) is a Mexican music educator and composer.

Biography

Gabriela Ortiz Torres was born in Mexico City of parents who were folk musicians. She learned folk music at home, and then studied in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique. She returned to Mexico City due to the illness of her mother, and studied composition there with Mario Lavista at the National Conservatory of Music. She continued her studies at the Guildhall School with Robert Saxton, and with Simon Emmerson at the University of London where she received a PhD in 1996.

After completing her studies, she took a position at the National School of Music at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City. She also taught at Indiana University in the United States.^[1]^[2] The Los Angeles Philharmonic has commissioned several works from her including the violin concerto Altar de Cuerda (2021-22).

Music

Ortiz incorporates conventional notation techniques in her compositions, which have contemporary, rock, African and Afro-Cuban influences. She has also composed pieces that incorporate experimental electro-acoustic elements.^[3]

Honors and awards

Civitella Ranieri Artistic Residency
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
Fulbright Fellowship
Distincion Universidad Nacional
First prize of the Silvestre Revueltas National Chamber Music Competition
First Prize at the Alicia Urreta Composition Competition
Composers Award Mexican Council for the Arts and Culture
National Artists System Fellowship from the Mexican Council for the Arts and Culture
Banff Center for the Arts Residency
Inroads Commission, a Program of Arts International with funds from the Ford Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
Mozart Medal Award for Mexican Theatre and Music as the best composer of 1997
The Fundacion Cultural Bancomer Award^[4]

Selected works

Dance scores

Hacia La Deriva (1989)
Eve and All the Rest (1991)
Errant maneuvers (1993)

Orchestral

Patios (1989)
Concierta candela (1993) for solo percussion and orchestra
Altar de Neón (1995) for percussion quartet and chamber orchestra
Zocalo-Bastilla (1996) for violin, percussion, and orchestra
Zocalo Tropical (1998) for flute, percussion, and orchestra
Altar de Piedra (2002) for percussion and orchestra, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Altar de Fuego (2010) for orchestra
Altar de Viento (2015) for flute and orchestra
Hominum — Concerto for Orchestra (2016)
Téenek — Invenciones de Territorio (2017) for orchestra, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Yanga (2019) for percussion quartet, chorus, and orchestra, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Clara (2021) for orchestra, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
Altar de Cuerda (2021) violin concerto, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Kauyumari (2021) for orchestra, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Opera

Unicamente La Verdad (2010), libretto by Ruben Ortiz

Electro-acoustic

Magna Sin (1992) for steel drum and tape
5 Micro Etudes (1992) for tape
Things Like That Happened (1994) for cello and tape
El Trompo (1994) for vibraphone and tape
Altar de Muertos (1996) for string quartet and tape

Other works

100 Watts (1998) for clarinet, bassoon, piano
Baalkah (1999) for soprano and string quartet^[5]
Seis piezas a Violeta (2002) for string quartet and piano
Corporea (2014) for mixed chamber ensemble, commissioned by San Francisco Contemporary Music Players

Partial discography

Her compositions have been recorded and issued on CD including:

Denibée by Gabriela Ortiz, Alejandro Escuer (Audio CD - 2014)
Aroma Foliando by Gabriela Ortiz, Southwest Chamber Music (Audio CD - 2013)
Altar de Muertos by Gabriela Ortiz, Arturo Nieto-Dorantes, and Sarah Leonard (Audio CD - 2006)
Tear by Ruth Crawford Seeger, Gabriela Ortiz, Silvestre Revueltas, Adriana Isabel Figueroa Mañas, and Alberto Ginastera (Audio CD - 2003)
Visiones Panamericanas by Tania Leon, Eugenio Toussaint, Gabriela Ortiz, Roberto Sierra, and Richard Felciano (Audio CD - 2002)
Mi Chelada by Alejandro Cardona, Gabriel Ruiz, Astor Piazzolla, Miguel del Aguila, and Enrico Chapela (Audio CD - 2000)
Ritmicas by Minoru Miki, Santiago Ojeda, Gabriela Ortiz, Amadeo Roldan, and Eugenio Toussaint (Audio CD - 1997)
Musica Sinfonica Mexicana by Silvestre Revueltas, Federico Ibarra, Gabriela Ortiz, Manuel Enriquez, and Jose Pablo Moncayo Garcia (Audio CD - 1997)

References

^ Moore, Tom. "Gabriela Ortiz—An Interview". Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ LaMay, Thomasin K. (2005). Musical voices of early modern women: many-headed melodies. ISBN 9780754637424. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
^ Miranda Perez, Ricardo (2001). "Ortiz, Gabriela". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.46060. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ "Gabriela Ortiz". Latitude 45 on Gabriela Ortiz. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ Amazon.com listing

External links

Official composer page
Composer bio and recording of Corporea San Francisco Contemporary Music Players

[1] Moore, Tom. "Gabriela Ortiz—An Interview". Retrieved 21 October 2010.

[2] LaMay, Thomasin K. (2005). Musical voices of early modern women: many-headed melodies. ISBN 9780754637424. Retrieved 11 November 2010.

[3] Miranda Perez, Ricardo (2001). "Ortiz, Gabriela". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.46060. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

[4] "Gabriela Ortiz". Latitude 45 on Gabriela Ortiz. Retrieved 21 October 2010.

[5] Amazon.com listing

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