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orlando jacinto garcía (b. 1954)
Through more than 200 works composed for a wide range of performance genres including interdisciplinary (video, film, dance), site specific, and works with and without electronics for orchestra, choir, soloists, and a variety of chamber ensembles, Orlando Jacinto Garcia has established himself as an important figure in the new music world. The distinctive character of his music has often been described as “time suspended-sonic explorations” qualities he developed from his studies with Morton Feldman among others.
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1954, Garcia migrated to the United States in 1961. In demand as a guest composer, he is the recipient of numerous honors and awards from a variety of organizations and institutions including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Rockefeller, Fulbright, Knight, Civitella, Bogliasco, and Cintas Foundations, State of Florida, MacDowell and Millay Colony, and the Ariel, Noise International, Matiz Rangel, Nuevas Resonancias, Salvatore Martirano, and Bloch International Competitions. Most recently he has been the recipient of 5 Latin Grammy nominations in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition Category (2009-11, 2015, 2021). With performances around the world at important venues by distinguished performers, his works are recorded on New Albion, O.O. Discs, CRI /New World, Albany, North/South, CRS, Rugginenti, VDM, Capstone, Innova, CNMAS, Opus One, Telos, Toccata Classics, Metier/Divine Art, and New Focus Recordings.
Garcia is the founder and director of the NODUS Ensemble, the Miami Chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music, the New Music Miami ISCM Festival, and is a resident composer for the Miami Symphony. A dedicated educator, he is Distinguished University Professor and Composer in Residence for the School of Music at Florida International University.
For a list of selected soloists, ensembles, orchestras that have perforemd his work visit Garcia’s CV.
recent news
A gamelan in the distance with Chen-Hui Jen’s recording played on WUSF Radio Modern Notebook show with Tyler Kline
A gamelan in the distance with Chen-Hui Jen's recording was played on WUSF Radio Modern Notebook show with Tyler Kline, The work can be heard between November 3-9. More here
Guest composer at the Musicahora Festival in La Serena, Chile September 2-6
It's a great pleasure to be guest composer as part of the Musicahora Festival in La Serena, Chile taking place during the first week of September. I am looking forward to the premiere of my work sonic transformations for two guitars by Diego Castro and Erik Marroquin...
Resonating Color Fields on WSMR’s Modern Notebook
My work Resonating Color Fields featuring virtuoso trumpet player Andrew Kozar is being aired this Sunday night 7/28 between 8 and 10 ET on WSMR available at WSMR 89.1 and 103.9 and streaming at wsmr.org Host Tyler Kline described the work by stating: The interplay of...
la vida que vendrá on Flotation Device
la vida que vendrá recently released by Loadbang on New Focus Recordings was included on the July 7, 2024 Flotation Device show. You can listen to the show here
la vida que vendrá featuring Loadbang released on New Focus Recordings
My latest portrait album la vida que vendrá featuring the Loadbang Ensemble was released on New Focus Recordings on May 24. The album features 5 of my works including 4 works for soloist and fixed media as well as an acoustic work for the ensemble. You can listen on...
The Orlando Jacinto Garcia Composition Scholarship Endowment
Really fortunate to be able to start a scholarship for future FIU Music Composition students interested in Cuban Culture. More here and on the flyer below:
articles
Listed below are a selection of articles written by Orlando Jacinto García. Reuse or reprinting of any of these articles or content therein must be done with the written consent of the author. You may contact orlando via the “contact” page or by e-mailing him at garciao@fiu.edu Please reference which article you would like to use.
Why References?
When I was in graduate school in the early and mid 1980s, I had the good fortune to work with an Asian American composer and teacher at the University of Miami named Dennis Kam. At that time he was very much involved with the idea of musical stasis or a music that by...
What is Art Music?
As we enter the next century the music world can seem a bit confusing. Twenty five years ago what was considered the Western Art music canon consisted of music from either Antiquity or the Renaissance through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and into the 20th...
Teaching Composition: Some General Thoughts
Teaching someone to compose is impossible! We all know that Bartok said it and refused to teach composition. My mentor Feldman taught composition but always claimed you couldn’t do it, for which he was often criticized by students. His now somewhat famous response to...
Boola Boola Revisited
Slightly more than 15 years ago, soon after finishing my doctoral studies, I had the great fortune of studying with Morton Feldman for 3 intensive weeks. These sessions proved to have a great impact on my career as a composer and pedagogue and I was fortunate to be...
Another Approach to Electroacoustic Music
At times I find myself feeling somewhat out of place at some of the electroacoustic music events where my work is presented. This is not because I do not find this genre of interest or because I am not pleased with my work or that of my colleagues, but because my...
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