NEWS
September 2023
I am absolutely thrilled because the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will once again perform my piece "Picante" for their free open house concert on September 23rd at 2pm! You can get a free ticket on September 13th at 12pm through this link. Tickets go out really fast, so set an alarm to get yours! I really hope a lot of you can make it, come say hi :)
August 2023
I am incredibly happy to have received the 2023 Barlow Prize Honorable Mention! The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition plays a vital role in promoting and supporting the art of music composition, providing opportunities for composers to create new works and contributing to the advancement of musical excellence.
August 2023
I had a lovely interview for the blog Frederic Debussy, where we talked about some of my sources of inspiration, including eating spicy foods, my Mexican heritage, and internet culture.
June 2023
This month is the premiere of my latest orchestral piece "Picante", commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Gustavo Gimeno. Check out this interview where I talk about my compositional process specifically for this work exploring the thin line between pleasure and pain when eating spicy food.
April 2023
GroundSwell recently released this video of my most recent piece "PROMPT", commissioned for Duo d'Entre-Deux and live video by Myriam Boucher. This piece explores the insane progress of AI-generated images of the last year. The mission of the performers is to craft a compelling prompt for the generator by exchanging gestures and adding small variations. This is accompanied by gradually-evolving speech synthesis technology, representing both the refinement of the prompt and the accelerating development of AI. The question is - can a prompt be so detailed and well designed so that there is virtually no difference between the image generated and reality?
March 2023
Absolutely thrilled to announce that I will be performing my suite of ten tangos with the Brandon Chamber Players on March 31st! It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to perform in Brandon, but my community there is very dear to me. These tangos hold a special place in my heart, and it will be an honour to share the stage with such fantastic musicians. I can’t wait to see you all there!
January 2023
For the next ten months, I will be working with the Atlys String Quartet as a fellow through the OAcademy Artist Diploma in the Gabriela Ortiz Composing Studio. I can't wait to make some crazy cool things with them!
December 2022
I am delighted to announce that my orchestral work Koatl has received the first prize of the First Morelia Orchestral Composition Competition in Mexico!
December 2022
The San Francisco Symphony will be performing "Mi Piñata" on December 3rd, 2022 under the direction of Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and I couldn't be more excited! This is the first time one of my orchestral works is performed in the United States and it is an absolute honour to be part of this program.
November 2022
I have been working on a really cool piece about AI-image generators for the amazing Duo d'Entre Deux for two saxophones, audio, and video. The concert will be on November 29, 2022 at the West End Cultural Centre in Winnipeg. Get you tickets here!
September 2022
I am absolutely thrilled that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is performing "Mi Piñata" again on Saturday, September 24th at their Open House Concert. I am very much looking forward to it and hope to see you there!
June 2022
I had a really wonderful interview with Hye's Musings where I share a bit of my musical journey, my interests, and in general my path in Canada as a composer. I hope you enjoy listening! I haven't really done interviews like this before, and listening back made me feel very proud and happy to be where I am right now.
June 2022
I am very excited that after two years of pandemic delays, my new orchestral work Koatl commissioned by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra will be premiered on June 2022. Make sure to get your tickets here!
May 2022
I am thrilled to announce the premiere of my Immigration Suite, a collection of ten tangos about the immigrant struggle. We shared the stage with the wonderful Solidaridad Tango on May 1st at the Heliconian Club in downtown Toronto. Click here to watch the recording of the performance. Thank you so much to the Ontario Arts Council for generously supporting the creation of these works.
April 2022
The three premieres of my TSO Commission "Mi Piñata" have been a success! I heard wonderful things from the audience members and I was extremely happy with the result. Gustavo Gimeno and the musicians of the orchestra did a fantastic job and I could not be happier.
March 2022
I am so deeply humbled and deliriously happy to share that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has commissioned me for a second time as one of their 2022/23 NextGen Composers! Not only that, but it's almost as if they peeked into my childhood and retrieved my favourite symphony, concerto, and pianist, and decided "Hey, let's put these all together in a concert." Yuja Wang, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich... I am extremely honoured and exceedingly grateful for this. This piece will premiere in June 2023.
July 2021
I am profoundly excited to announce that I have been commissioned by the one and only Toronto Symphony Orchestra! My work will be premiered in April of 2022 and I can't wait to collaborate with these astounding musicians. I am extremely grateful for this honour, deeply humbled, and couldn't be happier about it.
August 2020
I did a livestream with Abigail Richardson-Schulte and Christina Volpini from the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra to discuss my upcoming work, Koatl that will be premiered on June, 2022. Check it out on Facebook!
June 2020
The classical music world is overwhelmingly white and male. It is embarrassing to admit that it was only a few years ago when I understood how problematic this systemic racism is, but I want to take action and improve things within my field. I wrote this arrangement for piano of George Walker's "Lyric", a beautiful piece of music that I thought would be an appropriate counterpoint to the chaotic state of the present world. I am hopeful that times are changing, and I hope you consider incorporating and advocating for the music of marginalized communities in your performances.
Dedicated to the victims of police abuse. #BlackLivesMatter
Lyric, for Piano - George Walker
May 2020
I am truly honoured to have received the prestigious Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Award from the 2019 SSHRC Doctoral Awards competition. This is the most encouraging award I have ever received and it will significantly assist me in the completion of my doctoral studies.
February 2020
I had a lovely conversation with Matthew Fava from the Canadian Music Centre about my Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Fellowship, tango, and Jacob Collier. Additionally, I was featured in their Earmark series with a brief interview as a newly CMC Associate Composer.
January 2020
My band Amarras Tango Quintet and I have received a generous Music Creation Project grant by the Ontario Arts Council. They commissioned me to write ten new tangos for our first album. The concept for this album is to examine different angles of multiculturalism through tango. I explore ideas of identity, cultural hegemony, resistance, and collectivity, among many others. In a similar vein to the emergence of Tango in Buenos Aires, Toronto facilitates the perfect environment to explore these subjects through the music of tango.
November 2019
I have been selected to write a piece for the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and could not be more delighted! I am so happy to be a part of this mentorship opportunity with Gemma New and Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte. The piece will premiere on May 21st, 2020. You can read more about it here.
November 2019
I have been selected to write a piece for the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and could not be more delighted! I am so happy to be a part of this mentorship opportunity with Gemma New and Composer-in-Residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte. The piece will premiere on May 21st, 2020. You can read more about it here.
August 2019
Azure, for viola and piano, was premiered during AugustFest by Greg Hay and Donna Laube. This is my most recent work and I was extremely happy with the results. Azure is like a fast-paced road trip over the Manitoban prairies, driving swiftly through its seasons, colors, and scenery.
Here are the videos of each movement, I hope you enjoy!