Venezuela, Fidelio, and Minneapolis walk into a bar….

The Ricardo Lorenz world premiere, “Humboldt’s Nature,” is a symphonic fantasy for nearly ONE HUNDRED musicians, (geez Louise!), and utilizes almost every percussive instrument one can imagine. Based on the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt’s travels through Latin America, the opening movement heralds our entry into 18th century Venezuela with a recurring 5 beats of loud bells, between quiet mysterious but crescendoing strings. Then quiet again, and a piano theme, the first we hear of this recurrent, Berlioz-styled “idée fixe,” representing Humboldt and a colonial/European sensibility. more>

Humboldt’s Nature World Premiere, LA Phil

During his journey through Latin America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Alexander von Humboldt not only shaped a holistic worldview of the world, one in which nature and humanity are inextricably interwoven, but he also underwent a personal transformation that turned him into an empathetic and compassionate author. more > Composed: 2025Length: c. 25 minutesOrchestration: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets (2nd=bass clarinet, 3rd=E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (crotales, xylophone, triangle, guiro, vibraslap, Chinese opera gong, splash cymbal, suspended cymbal, crash cymbal, congas, tom-toms, bass drum,

Ricardo Lorenz’s ‘Humboldt’s Nature’ to premiere with LA Philharmonic

Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the newest orchestral work by composer Ricardo Lorenz, “Humboldt’s Nature,” will premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Feb. 12, 2026. Lorenz, a Michigan State University College of Music professor of composition, is excited to make his second premiere under the direction of famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and his preparation includes continued research. more>

Todo Terreno (world premiere, LA Phil commission)

Mud gets everywhere. Rocks, big and small, rattle each bone in the body. Every turn of the formless road brings unexpected challenges, both enticing and menacing. Do we succumb to the treacherous terrain, overheated and out of gas, or do we pull ourselves out of the thick, sticky sludge with a renewed sense of who we are? At one point, the laser-focus attention spent dodging deep potholes sprinkled on the narrow trail is interrupted by the glimpse of an idyllic vista that peeks through thick bushes. Could this be our destination? In that instance, we are simultaneously in heedful and

Carnegie Hall Presents: Ensemble Connect Up Close Performing New York Premier of “La Hamaca”

Monday, January 27, 2025 7:30 PM  Resnick Education Wing Ensemble Connect: Also performing October 27, February 10, 2025, and April 10, 2025. Gabriela Ortiz: Also performing October 18. Program: GABRIELA ORTIZ Pigmentum (NY Premiere) CARLOS SÁNCHEZ-GUTIÉRREZ LuciérnagasILEANA PEREZ VELAZQUEZ Light echoes (NY Premiere) RICARDO LORENZ La Hamaca (NY Premiere) ALEJANDRO CARDONA Axolotl (US Premiere) CAROLINA NOGUERA New Work (World Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall) Performers:Ensemble ConnectGabriela Ortiz, Artistic Partner More info>

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, 2025 Gustavo Dudamel Tour

Gustavo Dudamel and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra have been inseparable for 25 years. The Venezuelan conductor boosted the growth of the national youth orchestra into a world-renowned orchestra and led the now mature musicians all the way to Carnegie Hall. The programme opens with contemporary works by two compatriots. With rhythms and harmonies that take unexpected 180-degree turns, Ricardo Lorenz illustrates the versatile Venezuelan natural landscape with Todo Terreno (“all terrains”). Gonzalo Grau takes a journey from west to east coast in the same landscape with Odisea, a Concerto for Venezuelan Cuatro and Orchestra, in which the four-string guitar safely

2021-2022 Season

1/21/22Puente Trans Arábico, The Eykamp String Quartet. The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra’s free diversity series entitled “Connect & Celebrate: New Traditions” continues in January with a WNIN livestream, Evansville, IN 1/27/22La Hamaca, The Reveron Piano Trio, Diversity & Belonging: Unsung Keyboard Stories Conference, Britton Recital Hall, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2/17/22Compass Points, The Lumi Trio. Stephen F. Austin State University, Cole Recital Hall, Nacogdoches, TX 3/3/22Caminantes, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Daniel Tembras, cond., Fort Wayne, IN El Muro, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Daniel Tembras, cond., Fort Wayne, IN 3/19/22King Mangoberry: Five Allegories for Wind Symphony. Christiania Blåseensemble, Norwegian Academy

Open Borders: Music Of Ricardo Lorenz

This CD contains eight chamber works representing a creative period spanning thirty years, from 1989 to 2019, in stunning performances by internationally renowned artists like violinist Andrés Cárdenes, horn player Corbin Wagner, pianist Deborah Moriarty, soprano Jacquelyn Wagner, conductor Raphael Jiménez, the late harpist Deborah Hoffman as well as a younger generation of extraordinary performers from six different countries. 

KING MANGOBERRY (Music of Ricardo Lorenz)

KING MANGOBERRY Music of Ricardo LorenzMichigan State University Wind SymphonyKevin L. Sedatole, DirectorManuel Alejandro Rangel, Maracas At once sincere, cryptic, poignant, and raw, this collection of works celebrates the artistic symbiosis between composer and performer. King Mangoberry challenges us to celebrate an identity different from our own while questioning the very notion of identify itself. Pataruco teaches us to reimagine the possibilities of an instrument we think we know. El Muro builds, and subsequently tears down, walls.

2014-2015 SEASON

07.27.14 Fronteras Abiertas (Open Borders). Wesley Baldwin, cello. Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, Roseland, VA 08.01.14 Puente Trans-Arábico. Orlando Cotto, percussion; Dali String Quartet. North Penn Church of Christ, North Wales, PA 08.01.14 Está lloviendo afuera y no hay agua. Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto, piano. Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, Roseland, VA 08.03.14 Cecilia en Azul y Verde. Sara Sitzer, cello; Juan Carlos Fernández-Nieto, piano. Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, Roseland, VA 08.10.14 Two Pieces for String Orchestra: Habanera Science and Passacaglia Unrest (PREMIERE). Dali Quartet Festival Pre-College Orchestra, Raphael Jiménez, cond. Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 09.27.14 Olokun’s Awakening  from Symphonic Scenes of Chacumbele

2013-2014 SEASON

09.15.13 Piedra en la Piedra.  Kristine Rominsky, flute; Michael Mixtacki, percussion.  Mills Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. 10.05.13 Piedra en la Piedra.  Stephanie Abderhalden, flute; Jeremy Johnston, percussion.  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 10.23.13 Raw Cello.  Cello Fest 2o13 Ensemble led by German Marcano.  Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 10.28.13 Compass Points.  Seoul Modern Ensemble. 2013 Pan Music Festival. Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, South Korea. 11.19.13 Lejania (PREMIERE).  Pamela Smitter and Bill Baxtresser, trumpets and flugelhorn.  Cook Recital Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. 11.23.13 Raw Cello (Rochela).  Ensemble de Cellos del Conservatorio de Puerto Rico

MSU Symphony takes a ride to Macondo….again

The Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Kevin Noe performed Lorenz’s En Tren Vá Changó (Destination Macondo) on Friday November 16, 2012.  It is the second time in eight years that this work is heard live on the MSU campus.  In 2004, then MSU Assistant Director of Orchestras Raphael Jiménez brought the work for the first time to the University’s Wharton Center.  This performance took place before Lorenz joint the MSU College of Music Faculty and only three years after En Tren Vá Changó received its premiere performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival.   The

New Work for Strings Premiered at Dali Chamber Music Festival

As Composer-in-Residence of the 9th Annual Dali Quartet Chamber Music Festival and Camp, Ricardo Lorenz spent several days this past summer 2012 in North Wales, Pennsylvania, working on two of his works with some of the East Coast’s most talented young string players.  Lorenz conducted his Rochela for nine cellos, originally composed for and premiered by the cello section of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and attended the premiere of a new string orchestra work composed especially for the Festival’s pre-college orchestra.  Titled Habanera Science, the work is conceived as a response to the news that the data collected from the recently

Cacerola Soul premieres in London

Ricardo Lorenz attended the London premiere of his new work Cacerola Soul on May 3rd, 2012 at the Southbank Centre.  Cacerola Soul roughly translates as “the soul of the frying pan” and calls for a SATB choir, instrumental ensemble and optional rapper. The work was commissioned by The Iberian and Latin American Music Society of London (ILAMS) specifically to pay tribute to pot-banging protests as instruments of nonviolent resistance.  Cacerola Soul closed a concert that offered a kaleidoscopic view of five hundred years of Latin American classical music in honor of the recent bicentennial celebrations of Latin America’s independence. It featured

Cacerola Soul, for choir and chamber ensemble

Work for SATB choir and mixed ensemble inspired by pot banging protests common in South America.  Text by Alfredo Pérez.  Commissioned by The Iberian and Latin American Music Society (ILAMS) and premiered on May 3, 2012 at the Purcell Room, South Bank Center, London, UK. Approx. duration: 11 minutes 1010-0110- 4 perc., pn, SATB (optional rapper), vln, D.B.

Fourth major release of Lorenz’s El Muro

The CD “Street Song” marks the fourth major recording release of Ricardo Lorenz’s El Muro, this most recent one performed by the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble conducted by John P. Lynch. Previous releases of El Muro (Spanish for “The Wall”)  include CDs by University of North Texas, University of Florida, and Michigan State University wind symphonies.    This University of Georgia Wind Ensemble recording release on the Naxos label received 2nd Place in the 2012 American Prize in the category of Wind Ensemble/Concert Band Performance.

2012-2013 SEASON

09.03.12 Pataruco: Concerto for Venezuelan Maracas & Orchestra (arrangement for trio and maracas by Arnan Domingo).  Ferran Carceller, maracas;   Ester Pingol, harp; Genet Salicru, clarinet; Arnan Domingo, piano. ESMUC, Barcelona, Spain. 10.02.12 Jaromiluna. Dawn Posey, violin; Nuiko Wadden, harp. Pittsburgh Music Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.07.12 Jaromiluna. Dawn Posey, violin; Nuiko Wadden, harp. Monks’ Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.25.12 Puente Trans-Arábico.  Orlando Cotto, percussion; Dali String Quartet.  Kenan Auditorium, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina. 11.16.12 En Tren Vá Changó (Destination Macondo).  Michigan State Symphony Orchestra.  Kevin Noe, cond.  Wharton Center, East Lansing, Michigan. 03.15.13 El Muro.  Northwestern University Wind

Ricardo Lorenz re-imagines Sondheim

On April 21, 2012, Ricardo Lorenz attended the New York premiere of Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim from the Piano, a concert project involving over thirty of the world’s foremost contemporary composers, including Lorenz, and their solo piano creations based on Sondheim songs.  Produced by Rachel Colbert and performed by pianist and  co-producer Anthony de Mare, Liaisons gathers short piano pieces commissioned from composers such as Steve Reich, William Bolcom, Fred Hersch, Frederic Rzewski, Paul Moravec, Mason Bates, and two dozen others. Regarding Lorenz’s re-imagination of Sondheim, the composer writes:  “Summer of 1982 was wonderfully diabolic.  I danced a waltz with Mephistopheles and

The Worst [Empanadas] in London, for solo piano

Commissioned by Music in the Loft especially for Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the piano, a tribute project that gathers piano adaptations of Stephen Sondheim’s songs by more than thirty composers. Premiered at Symphony Space in New York City by Anthony de Mare on April 21, 2012. Approx. duration:  5 minutes.

Canciones de Jara (Jara Songs): Concerto for viola and Orchestra

Composed for and premiered by violist Roberto Díaz through a Michigan State University Intramural Grant (IRGP) from the Vice-President’s Office for Research.  Premiered on October 22, 2010 by R. Díaz and the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra, Leon Gregorian, conductor.  East Coast premiere in Camden, NJ on October 15, 2011 by R. Díaz and Symphony in C, Rossen Milanov, conductor. Approx. duration:  30 minutes. Instrumentation: 2232-2220- timp., 4 perc., harp, gtr – strings

In Memoriam Fredda Hyman (1937-2011)

On December 1st, 2011 Music in the Loft founder Fredda Hyman passed away in her Chicago loft.  On that day, up and coming performers and composers lost one of their greatest champions.  As for myself, I lost one of my greatest friends and supporters, a surrogate mom and a confidant.  Please read my Tribute to Fredda Hyman, founder and artistic director for almost two decades of Music in the Loft.

East Coast Premiere of Lorenz’s Viola Concerto

  A year after its first performance at Michigan State University, Ricardo Lorenz’s Viola Concerto received its East Coast premiere on October 15, 2011.  This time it was outside of Philadelphia, once again with violist Roberto Díaz for whom the concerto titled Canciones de Jara was especially composed, and this time accompanied by Symphony in C, a recently created professional training orchestra lead by conductor Rossen Milanov.   Lorenz’s concerto opened the orchestra’s 2011-2012 season along with staple works from the symphonic repertoire such as Listz’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

Canciones de Jara: Recalling the Soul of an Activist

Though there appears to be a tension between the song short form -simple, with alternating verses and choruses- and the large symphonic form developed during the classical era in Europe, Lorenz uses Canciones de Jara to resolve some of those contradictions and explore the deeper meanings of Jara’s songs. ‘That’s what the symphonic context allows,’ he says.  Courier Post’s Dave Allen previewing the East Coast premiere of Lorenz’s Canciones de Jara with Roberto Díaz and Symphony in C, conducted by Rossen Milanov. Read entire article published in the CourierPostOnline.com

Music and Sustainable Development in Cuba

When one thinks of Cuba, one thinks of three things: tobacco, revolution, and music.  However, of these three emblems, music best defines the identity of the country.  Since more than a century and a half, music has allowed Cubans to remain attached to the past while at the same time respond to influences and demands from the present.  Throughout the dramatic history of Cuba —which includes slavery, independence from Spain, U.S. interventions, and a socialist-communist revolution among others—, music has always been there for Cubans to not only record events but to also adapt to them.  During a five-week study

Rumba Sinfónica premieres in the Middle East and South America

Rumba Sinfónica, a thirty-minute concerto of sorts for Latin band and symphony orchestra, was the result of a close collaboration between composer Ricardo Lorenz and pianist/arranger Jorge Gómez.   Since its premiere with the Minnesota Orchestra in the fall of 2007, Rumba Sinfónica has been performed two dozen times by Jorge Gómez’s band Tiempo Libre and different professional, college, and youth orchestras across the U.S. and Canada.   For the 2010-2011 season, Rumba Sinfónica traveled over the Atlantic Ocean and over the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas to receive premieres in Israel and Venezuela.   On November 3, 2011, two-time Grammy nominated Tiempo Libre performed the

Second Congress of Musical Creation in San Juan, Puerto Rico

    As a guest composer of the 2nd Congress of Musical Creation hosted by the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Ricardo Lorenz attended the Caribbean premiere of his work Merengue en el Espejo and delivered a two-part lecture presentation on the topic of finding appropriate spaces for optimal musical creation. The Conservatory of Music’s composition faculty Alfonso Fuentes organized the multidisciplinary event that gathered composers and performers as well as visual artists, authors, musicologists, and folklorists during the dates of February 10-13, 2011.   Founded by the famous cellist Pablo Casals, the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto

2011-2012 SEASON

09.22.11 Jaromiluna. Ji Hyun Kim, violin; Deidreanna Potter, harp; Calvary Baptist Church, Charlotte, Michigan 10.02.11 Rumba Sinfónica.  Frank Marquez y Los Rumberos Sinfónicos; Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas; Rodolfo Saglimbeni, cond.; Paseo Los Próceres, Caracas, Venezuela 10.15.11 Canciones de Jara: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (East Coast premiere).  Roberto Díaz, viola;  Symphony in C; Rossen Milonov, cond; Rutgers-Camden Center for Performing Arts, New Jersey 11.09.11 Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas and Orchestra.  V International Percussion Encounter. Manuel Rangel, soloist; Conservatory of Tatuí Symphony Orchestra; João Mauricio Galindo, cond; São Paulo, Brazil 11.22.11 Merengue en el Espejo.  Patricia Cardona & Rianna Cohen, flutes.

Lorenz and Díaz talk about their recent viola concerto collaboration

Read about Lorenz’s Canciones de Jara on the Discovery Channel’s Blog. Read more about the premiere on the Michigan State News website. Listen to Ricardo Lorenz talk about Canciones de Jara with Spartan Podcast host Russ White. Listen to violist Roberto Díaz and conductor Leon Gregorian talk about the premiere of Canciones de Jara on NPR affiliate WKAR  90.5FM

Violist Roberto Díaz premieres Canciones de Jara

On October 22, 2010 Violist Roberto Díaz premiered Ricardo Lorenz’s Canciones de Jara: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leon Gregorian at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.   After consecutive tenures as Principal Violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra, Roberto Díaz currently heads the Curtis Institute of Music and performs extensively as a soloist worldwide. Canciones de Jara bridges the old concerto model and the more recent genre of the so-called protest song. Lorenz’s intention was to merge the extraordinarily expressive range of violists Roberto Díaz

Euphonium Music Commissioning Consortium

  An international group of euphonium players and music institutions has joined forces to commission a work from Ricardo Lorenz that will feature the euphonium while calling for the same instrumentation of Leos Janacek’s seldom performed Cappricio for piano and winds.   The consortium is spearheaded by Robert Benton, currently on the University of Windsor Brass Faculty and hailed for being “a compelling performer and outstanding Embassador for the euphonium.”   Other distinguished euphonium players joining the commissioning consortium who will co-premiere Lorenz’s upcoming work are Hidenori Arai (Japan) , Tormod Flaten (Grieg Academy in Norway), Adam Frey (Emory University), Fritz Kaenzig

Surviving Bliss

It is difficult to describe the MacDowell Colony experience to someone who has never had it.  After spending five weeks there this past spring working on a viola concerto and on a flute duet, I could simply say that it was heavenly.  MacDowell is so absolutely blissful that at times I felt embarrassed to be enjoying such privilege.  The hundred year old colony, a baby of Miriam and Edward MacDowell, feeds three healthy meals a day and provides a cozy live-in studio complete with a grand piano to every resident fellow.   The property looks and feels like sacred fields of

Live from The Mill

As part of their 2010 Meadowlark Music Festival engagement, Guest Composer Ricardo Lorenz and the Dali String Quartet appeared as featured artists of “Live from the Mill,” a laidback yet incredibly informative art news show that is broadcasted live from The Mill, a landmark café in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.  “Live from the Mill” is hosted by Bill Stibor every Friday morning and is heard throughout Nebraska on KUCV Net Radio 91.1 FM, an affiliate of NPRN. 

Concerto for Maracas ends season at Millennium Park

To conclude a year of performances in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Lorenz’s Pataruco: Concerto for Venezuelan Maracas and Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and soloist Ed Harrison performed the work at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion of Chicago’s Millennium Park.  During the 2009-2010 season, the work received performances in Nevada, Oregon and in Mexico by percussionists Ricardo Gallardo and Terry Longshore.  Pataruco was the result of a close collaboration between Venezuela-native Ricardo Lorenz and Ed Harrison, who studied with maraca virtuoso Maximo B. Teppa while on tenure as percussionist with the Caracas Philharmonic during the early 1980s.  Harrison,

Convergence in Nebraska at this year’s Meadowlark Music Festival

    As Guest Composer of the 2010 Meadowlark Music Festival, Ricardo Lorenz curated a program of Latin American music that brought together Philadelphia-based Dali String Quartet and Puerto Rican percussionist/marimba virtuoso Orlando Cotto.  A highlight of the program was the Nebraska premiere of Lorenz’s Puente Trans-Arabico for percussion and string quartet.  Among other works for percussion and string quartet, the program included Lorenz’s arrangements of Cuban dance music as well as a brand new string quartet and marimba adaptation of Orlando Cotto’s Marimba for an Angel.   The festival was hosted between June 12 and 19 at the University of Nebraska

2010-2011 SEASON

10.01.10 El Muro.  University of Michigan Wind Symphony.  Michael Haithcock, cond.  Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 10.05.10 Merengue en el Espejo (PREMIERE).  Molly Barth and Luis Julio Toro, flutes.  Beall Concert Hall, Eugene, Oregon. 10.08.10 El Muro.  Duquesne University Wind Symphony.  Robert Cameron, cond. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.12.10 Salsa Inglesa.  Elena Riu, piano; Wilmer Sifontes, percussion.  The Clore Ballroom.  Royal Festival Hall. London, U.K. 10.22.10 Canciones de Jara: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (PREMIERE).  Roberto Díaz, viola;  Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra; Leon Gregorian, cond.  Wharton Center, East Lansing,Michigan. 10.28.10 Merengue en el Espejo.  Molly Barth and Luis Julio Toro, flutes.

Perfiles Sospechosos, 2007 NFA Commission, gets a makeover

Minnesota native and flutist Marissa Olin will premiere a new and improved version of Ricardo Lorenz’s Perfiles Sospechosos on Sunday, April 18, at Michigan State’s Hart Recital Hall.  Originally a trio for flute, cello, and percussion commissioned by the National Flute Association, Olin will premiere a quartet version of Perfiles Sospechosos that incorporates bass clarinet.  “As soon as it was premiered in 2007 at the NFA New Mexico convention,” explains Lorenz, “I felt the work could greatly benefit from the addition of a low wind instrument to back up the cello and complement the flute’s high register, particularly in the

University of Oregon Commission bridges north and south

Ricardo Lorenz receives commission from the University of Oregon to compose work for two world-renown flutists: Grammy-Award winning, University of Oregon faculty Molly Barth and revered Venezuelan flutist Luis Julio Toro.   In addition to having long standing solo careers, Molly Barth is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed sextet Eight Blackbird and Luis Julio Toro has traveled all around the world with his virtuoso contemporary folk ensemble Gurrufio. Lorenz and Toro have collaborated many times in the past.   They both met Molly Barth for the first time in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the 2007 National Flute Association’s convention where

2010 MacDowell Colony Fellowship Recipient

Ricardo Lorenz will spend five weeks in residency at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire.  As a MacDowell Colony Fellow, Lorenz will work during April and May 2010 on a new concerto for viola and orchestra.  The concerto is loosely based on a group of songs by the late singer songwriter Victor Jara, one of the first casualties of Chile’s 1973 military coup.  Lorenz is composing this concerto for Roberto Díaz, former principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and current President of the Curtis Institute of Music. Founded by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife Marian in 1907, MacDowell

Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas’ Tenth Anniversary

Several performances of Ricardo Lorenz’s concerto for maracas and orchestra are scheduled for the 2009-2010 season in cities across the US and Mexico. Premiered ten years ago and titled Pataruco, this first-ever concerto for maracas will be performed in Oregon and Nevada by percussionist Terry Longshore (http://www.terrylongshore.com) with the Rogue Valley Symphony and the Carson City Symphony respectively. Almost simultaneously, Mexican percussionist Ricardo Gallardo will performed the concerto with the Michoacan Symphony in Mexico City and Morelia.   Pataruco was premiered in March 1999 by the Chicago Sinfonietta and percussionist Ed Harrison, to whom the work was dedicated. Since then, the

Ricardo Lorenz visits The Gator Nation

By invitation of the University of Florida Bands, Ricardo Lorenz visited the Gainesville campus on September 29-October 2, 2009 to attend the official premiere of El Muro, a work for wind symphony commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association and the University of Florida Bands.  The work was premiered on October 1st by the UF Wind Symphony conducted by David Waybright.  While at University of Florida, Lorenz met with graduate students in the Band and Music Composition programs, as well as with Composition Faculty Paul Richards and Paul Koonce.  Lorenz also had a chance to tour the brand new Steinbrenner Band

IN AND OUT OF THE VOID

What stands between composing music and the world feels like a void that I simultaneously crave and loathe. On the one hand, I seek those moments when I am alone and self-absorbed over a score in progress. On the other hand, I reject the thought of being a loafer, oblivious of my surroundings, because in the end it is all about making a connection; it is about being in tune with the world. What I mean is that composing music, like any other art, requires knowing when to immerse oneself into a vacuum and when to surface out of it.

Rumba Sinfónica opens its third season at the historic Severance Hall

Ricardo Lorenz’s Rumba Sinfónica will receive its twentieth performance at the historic Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra. On October 24, 2009 Tiempo Libre and The Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Carl Topilow will perform Rumba Sinfónica at Cleveland’s Severance Hall.  One of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, Severance Hall underwent a major, $36-million restoration and expansion in 2000.  This landmark building was one of the most modern, up-to-date concert facilities in America when it opened in 1931 as The Cleveland Orchestra’s permanent home. Ricardo Lorenz’s Rumba Sinfónica has toured many cities in

El Muro: 2008 ABA/University of Florida Commission

After fulfilling a commission from the National Flute Association in 2007, Ricardo Lorenz was the 2008 recipient of the American Bandmasters Association/University of Florida Commission Award.  The award, funded by a grant from the University of Florida band program, includes a commission honorarium to create a major artistic work for wind band.  After a preview performance at the 2009 CBDNA conference, the ten-minute work, titled El Muro , is scheduled to be premiered this upcoming October 1st by the University of Florida Wind Symphony conducted by David Waybright. El Muro is Spanish for “the wall,” and Lorenz describes the work

Bachangó

Bachangó.  Marta Aznavoorian, piano.  Included in a CD title “Composers in the Loft.” Cedille Records, US, 2007. Chosen as March 2008 Pick of the Month by Strad Magazine.

2009-2010 SEASON

10.01.09 El Muro.  University of Florida Wind Symphony, David Waybright, cond. Gainesville, Florida. 10.15 & 17.09 Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas and Orchestra. Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán; Ricardo Gallardo, percussion; Eduardo Sánchez Zúber, cond. Morelia, Mexico. 10.16.09 Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas and Orchestra. Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán; Ricardo Gallardo, percussion; Eduardo Sánchez Zúber, cond. Sala Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico City, Mexico. 10.24.09 Rumba Sinfónica. Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra; Carl Topilow, cond. Severence Hall, Cleveland, Ohio. 10.24.09 El Muro. Columbus State University Wind Symphony; Rob Rumbelow, cond.  Columbus, Georgia. 11.6-8.09 Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas and Orchestra.  Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra. Terry Longshore,

Tiempo Libre plays Ricardo Lorenz’s “Rumba Sinfónica”

Links from MSUToday on TV Spartan Podcast: Ricardo Lorenz College of Music News: Composer Heats Things Up with Fusion of Cuban Rumba and Symphony Sound MSU News: MSU professor’s ‘Rumba Sinfonica’ to be performed by Detroit Symphony Orchestra [Video] MSUToday Show #12: Tiempo Libre performs “Rumba Sinfónica”

International Divertimenti for Sculpture and Traffic

The second half of the concert felt more convincing than the first. After Mr. Giorgetti’s “Dialogue” came the Venezuelan-American composer Ricardo Lorenz’s “Compass Points,” the most successful piece on Sunday’s program. Each of the work’s three sections was written in a different location and reflects the composer’s state of mind and circumstances at the time. The first movement, composed in Umbria, Italy, offered a sultry canvas with passionate violin interludes. The second — both melancholy and defiant, with languid clarinet riffs — was written in Bloomington, Ind., as a tribute to the pianist and composer Robert Avalon. The frenzied, driven

Composer Ricardo Lorenz brings together two musical traditions

Ricardo Lorenz’s first composition, written at age 12, was extremely simple. “Just two chords, jumping back and forth,” he says with a laugh. “I got such a kick out of it.” Now, after more than 25 years as a composer, Venezuelan-born Lorenz, PhD’99, not only creates large-scale works for multi-instrument groups, but he also harmonizes two musical worlds: classical and Latin American. More>

Your world, on shuffle

Get down. Listen up. Get down. How’s that for a history of Western music in six words? It’s also a neat preview of Michigan State University composer Ricardo Lorenz’ massive Latinsymphonic collision piece “Rumba Sinfonica.” For years, two men dreamed of a taboo liaison between full symphony orchestra and Latin dance machine: Lorenz and Jorge Gomez, founder of Grammy-winning Latin combo Tiempo Libre. Their dream comes alive Thursday night, when plugged-in, seven-piece Tiempo Libre joins the unplugged, seventy-or-so-piece MSU Symphony for a postmodern music party where people listen up AND get down. Read more: Your world, on shuffle

El Muro (The Wall), for symphonic wind ensemble

Commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association and The University of Florida for premiere by the University of Florida Wind Symphony conducted by David Waybright,  October 1st, 2009.   The Michigan State University Wind Symphony previewed the work at the CBDNA Conference held at The University of Texas-Austin, March 28, 2008. Approx. duration: 10 minutes. Instrumentation: 4343 – 4 sax- 6431(2 Euph.) – timp, 4 perc., pn plus backstage quintet  (cl, a. sax, tbn, bass, perc.)

New Viola Concerto in collaboration with Roberto Díaz

Ricardo Lorenz received a 2008 Michigan State University Intramural Grant (IRGP) from the Vice President’s Office for Research to compose a concerto for viola in collaboration with Roberto Díaz, former principal violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and current President of the Curtis Institute of Music. The concerto is to be premiered by Mr. Díaz and the MSU Symphony Orchestra during the fall of 2010. Watch Roberto Diaz on youtube

2008-2009 SEASON

09.20.08 Rumba Sinfónica.  Toledo Symphony (OH).  Conductor, Chelsea Tipton II, cond.  Toledo, OH. 10.08.08 Compass Points. The Verdehr Trio. University Center for the Arts, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 10.15.08 Compass Points. The Verdehr Trio. Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver, Denver, CO. 11.14.08 Salsa Inglesa.  Marianella Ramos, piano.  University of British Columbia. Canada. 01.22.09 Rumba Sinfónica.  Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. Raphael Jimenez, cond.  Wharton Center, East Lansing, MI. 01.24.09 Rumba Sinfónica. Interlochen Academy Orchestra, Interlochen, MI. 01.30.09 Jaromiluna.  Jennifer Curtis, vln; Bridget Kibby, harp.  Brooklyn Philharmonic’s Nuevo Latino Festival, Brooklyn, NY. 02.07.09 Rumba Sinfónica.

Rumba Sinfónica, for Latin band and symphony orchestra

Composed in collaboration with Jorge Gómez for Tiempo Libre. Commissioned by Minnesota Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Ravinia Festival, and Festival of the Art BOCA.   Premiered by Tiempo Libre and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sarah Hicks on November 16-17, 2008, and subsequently performed by Tiempo Libre and the Lynn University Symphony Orchestra at the Festival of the Arts Boca, the Detroit Symphony, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. Approx. duration: 26 minutes. 3333-4331- timp, 2 perc., harp –  Latin septet (fl/t. sax, tpt, 2 perc, voice, elec. bass, pn)- strings

2007-2008 SEASON

11.16-17.07    Rumba Sinfónica.  OFFICIAL PREMIERE. Minnesota Orchestra, Sara Hatsuko Hicks, cond.  Minneapolis, Minnesota. 01.17-19.08    Rumba Sinfonica.  National Arts Center Orchestra, Ottawa.  Jean Marie Zeitouni, conductor. 02.12.08    Piedra en la Piedra.  Heather Franklin, flute; Jason Hammond-Wood, marimba; Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN. 03.03.08    Conpass Points.  The Verdehr Trio.  The Phillips Collection, Washington DC. 03.10.08    Bachangó.  Martha Aznavoorian, piano.  WNYC-2 93.9FM 03.15.08    Rumba Sinfonica.  Lynn University Philharmonia Orchestra, Raphael Jimenez, conductor.  The Festival of the Arts Boca. 03.27.08    Bachangó. Anthony de Mare, piano.  College of Music Auditorium, MSU. 03.29.08    Piedra en la Piedra, Heather Franklin, flute; Jason Hammond-Wood, marimba; Percussive Arts

Al Otro Lado del Rio, for guitar and string quartet

Fantasy on a tune by Jorge Drexler for guitar and string quartet.  Commissioned by Music in The Loft and generously funded by the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund.  Premiered at Music in The Loft by guitarist Rami Vamos and Pacifica String Quartet on November 18, 2006.  The original tune by Jorge Drexler won the 2004 Academy Award for best soundtrack. Approx. duration: 12 minutes.

Full Strings

November 19, 2006 Full Strings Music in The Loft Washington Blvd Chicago, ILL 3PM Premiere of new work for guitar and string quartet. Commissioned by Music in The Loft for guitarist Rami Vamos and the Pacifica String Quartet. Take a peek at MITL 2006-2007 Season Brochure.

New Scenes from Childhood

September 13, 2006 New Scenes from Childhood Martin Theater Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, ILL 8:00PM Ricardo Lorenz returns to Ravinia Festival. After his participation in the Train Commissions Project, Lorenz joins composers as diverse as Ned Rorem, Ramsey Lewis and Aaron Jay Kernis in a collection of commissioned piano works that pay tribute to Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood. More

De Michigan a Michoacan

Septembre 11, 2006 De Michigan a Michoacan University of Texas Press Advisory Council Austin, TX Mexican cellist Carlos Prieto will premiere new solo work by Ricardo Lorenz as part of the activities around the book presentation of Prieto’s “The Adventures of a Cello” (University of Texas Press).

The Michigan Connection

April 2, 2006 The Michigan Connection School of Music Auditorium Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 3PM Compass Points, a trio for clarinet, violin and piano commissioned by The Verdehr Trio, will be premiered together with other Michigan-based composers. Read about future Verdehr Trio projects

American Piano Festival

March 7-12, 2006 American Piano Festival Anthony de Mare, piano Claire Smith Performing Arts Center Maryland Lorenz’s widely performed piano work Bachangó is included in this years’ American Piano Festival along with works by Gottschalk, Joplin, Tatum, Ives, Gershwin and other American masters. Read more about the 2006 American Piano Festival

Music for Gabriela and Cecilia

February 26, 2006 Music for Gabriela and Cecilia Chicago Cultural Center Chicago, ILL 3PM Lorenz’s Cecilia en Azul y Verde, for cello and piano, will be performed by members of the Maverick Ensemble in a tribute concert to Chilean author Gabriela Mistral. Cecilia en Azul y Verde was composed in 1998 as a tribute to the composer’s mother. Read article

Salsa Nueva

February 10, 2006 Salsa Nueva Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater Valencia, CA 8:30PM US premiere of Lorenz’s Salsa Inglesa * Elena Riu, pianist Wilmer Sifontes, percussion More * Salsa Inglesa is included in Salsa Nueva, a Book/CD pack published by Boosey %26 Hawkes.

Selected Reviews

“Ricardo Lorenz’s ‘Bachangó’ translates the rhythmic tradition of the black Caribbean into steely pianistic bravura.” Bernard Holland, THE NEW YORK TIMES “Its appeal is atmospheric, evoking visceral responses to layer upon layer of divergent rhythms and quixotic melodic lines that fit together with jigsaw puzzle perfection.” Diane Windeler, SAN ANTONIO LIGHT “Ricardo Lorenz proved his mastery of large forces in his Concierto para Orquesta.” Tim Page, NEW YORK NEWSDAY “Lorenz has fashioned four pungent, emotionally complex and artfully balanced songs for tenor and large instrumental ensemble.” Daniel Cariaga, LOS ANGELES TIMES “… most engaging … crisp …” Andrew Porter, THE

Salsa Inglesa

Salsa Inglesa. Elena Riu, piano; Wilmer Sifontes, Latin percussion. Included in a score/CD pack titled “Nueva Salsa: vibrant salsa beats meet contemporary classical piano” music published Boosey Hawkes. SOMM Recordings, UK, 2005.

MIXED INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE

2005 Latin Grazz (traditional Appalachian/R. Lorenz) 2 tpts, drumt set, Latin perc., pn, 2 vlns, electric bass 2003 La Comparsa Revisited (Ernesto Lecuona)    sop. sax, tpt, tbn, drum set, accordion, pn, vln, contrabass 2003 Bebe (Hermeto Pascoal)    2 fls (picc), Brazilian perc, pn, 2 vlns, vla, vlc, elec. bass 2003 Hijo de la Cubanera (Juan Esteban García)    alto sax, tpt, tbn, Venezuelan maracas, Venezuelan cuatro, vln, contrabass 2003 Passionate Journey Suite (Lesley Spencer) **    Fl, 2 E.hns., F hn, tpt, tbn, gtr solo, drum set, Latin perc. children’s choir, vln, vlc, contrabass2002 Jaw-Bone Moon (Lesley Spencer) **    Fl, alto sax,

Salsa Inglesa, for solo piano

Premiered by Elena Riu at the Rhythm Sticks International Festival, Purcell Room, London, July 17, 2004. Published in 2005 by Boosey & Hawkes under a collection of piano works titled Salsa Nueva: vibrant salsa beats meet contemporary classical piano music. Approx. duration: 5 minutes.

Pataruco

Pataruco: Concerto for Maracas and Orchestra. Ed Harrison, maracas; Paul Freeman, conductor; Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Together with otherconcertos by Morton Gould, Jan Bach and Gustavo Leone. Albany Records, USA, 2002.

VOICES IN LIMBO

When citing this document follow standard Internet sources citation guidelines (ISCG) as follow: Lorenz, Ricardo.  Voices in Limbo: Identity, Representation, and Realities of Latin American Composers. www.ricardolorenz.com  followed by date (mm/dd/yy) when the website was accessed.   FOREWORD INTRODUCTION: REALITIES INSIDE THE LIMBO The Exclusion of Latin America’s Art Music from the Western Musical Canon Reconciliation, Subversion or Creation? Western Music in the non-Western Frontier Voices in Limbo Strategies to Exit the Limbo PART ONE I.  IDENTITY IDENTIFIED The Total Absence of Identity? Identity and the Musical “Language of Nostalgia” Identity and Music History II. “LATIN AMERICAN” MUSICAL IDENTITY What’s

Jaromiluna

Jaromiluna: Ignace Jang, violin; Sirin Pancaroglu, harp. Twentieth-Century works for violin and harp. Doublemoon Records, Turkey, 2000.

1985-2000

Lorenz, Ricardo. “Orrego-Salas in Half a Century of Sound Recordings.” Latin American Music Review, Vol. 21, No. 1: Spring/Summer 2000. Lorenz, Ricardo, ed. Scores and Recordings at the Indiana University Latin American Music Center.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. Lorenz, Ricardo. “Mambozart: ¿Postmodernismo?…me alegra que me lo comentes pues de eso te quería hablar.” Score and accompanying essay published in Argos, Nos. 22-23, Caracas, 1995. Lorenz, Ricardo. “El Concierto para Violin de Juan Orrego-Salas.” Revista Musical Chilena, año 38, no. 162, Santiago de Chile, 1985. * for published compositions see under COMPOSITIONS *

Konex-Konex, for folk ensemble and orchestra

Orchestral variations on a Mayan tune. Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and premiered jointly with Los Folkloristas on April 7-8, 2000 under the baton of William Eddins. Subsequently performed by the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México on September 16-17, 2000, Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor.  Approx. duration: 7 minutes. 3333 – 4331 – timp, 2 perc, harp – strings and folk ensemble.

Piedra en la Piedra

Piedra en la Piedra: Alison Potter, flute; Orlando Cotto, marimba. Included with works for marimba by Astor Piazzolla and Antonio Lauro, among others. USA, 1998.

Concerto for Recorder

Commissioned by Concert Artists Guild for recorder artist Aldo Abreu. In three movements. Premiered by the Billings Symphony (Montana) on November 7, 1998, under the baton of Uri Barnea. Approx. duration: 20 minutes. Instrumentation: 0000 – 2000 – timp, 2 perc, harpsichord (cel), solo rec. – strings. **

Llorença en el Nou Mon

Llorença en el Nou Mon: Andrés Cárdenes, violin; Luz Manriquez, piano. Included along with little gems for the violin by Copland, Sibelius, Ravel, Debussy, and Szymanowski among others. Arabesque Recordings, USA, 1994.

Zamuro tumbó Mirage, for alto saxophone, bass clarinet, piano, and percussion

Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition for the Minneapolis-based ensemble Zeitgeist. In four movements. Last movement requires a tape playback. Premiered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, byZeitgeist, at the Guthrie Theater on May 19, 1994. Performed the following year by Chicago’s Contemporary Chamber Players, at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago. Approx. duration: 16 minutes.

Entrada Triunfal del Rey Mangoberry

Commissioned by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (Ohio) to open its 60th anniversary season. Premiered under the baton of Isaiah Jackson on September 22, 1993. Later performed by the Stockholms Blåsarsymfoniker (Sweden), The University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Youngstown Symphony. Approx. duration: 4 minutes. ** Instrumentation: 1(picc)333 – 4331 – timp, perc, pn.

Concerto for Orchestra

Commissioned by Dennis Russell Davies and the Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn. Premiered in Bonn, Germany, under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies; April 2, 1993. The North American premiere took place in New York’s Carnegie Hall, by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies; December 4, 1994. Approx. duration: 17 minutes. Instrumentation: 3333 – 4431 – timp, perc, pn (cel), harp – strings.

Confabulaciones del Alma (Three Symphonic Etudes)

Jointly commissioned by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. and Spain’s Centro para la Difusión de la Música Contemporanea. Premiered in Alicante, Spain, by the Orquesta Nacional de España under the baton of Josep Pons, on September 22, 1992, during Alicante’s VIII International Festival of Contemporary Music. It was performed later that year in Caracas, Venezuela, by the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolivar, under the baton of Alfredo Rugeles, during the VI Festival of Latin American Music. Approx. duration: 20 minutes. Instrumentation: 3333 – 4321 – timp, perc, pn (cel), harp – strings.

Sit Still, for narrator, mixed chorus, and chamber orchestra

Commissioned by author Robert Fulghum and the Newhouse Foundation. Text by Robert Fulghum. Premiered at the World Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by the Minneapolis Chamber Symphony and the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, conducted by Jere Lantz and narrated by Robert Fulghum; September 12, 1991. Approx. duration: 13 minutes. Instrumentation: 2222 – 2200 – timp, perc, harp – strings.

Violin Concerto

Commissioned by Pittsburgh Symphony’s Concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes. In three movements. Premiered by the San Antonio Symphony (Texas) conducted by Carl Saint Clair; October 4, 1990. Also performed by the New World Symphony (Miami) under the baton of Eduardo Mata; March 27, 1993. Approx. duration: 27 minutes. **Instrumentation: 1021 – 0211 – timp, 3 perc, pn (cel), solo vln – strings.

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

Commissioned by the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela in celebration of its 60th anniversary season. In three movements. Premiered in Caracas by pianist Anthony de Mare, with the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela conducted by Carmen Helena Téllez; July 15, 1990. Subsequently recorded by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Lara (Venezuela) under the direction of Leonardo Panigada and Anthony de Mare as soloist.  Approx. duration: 35 minutes. Instrumentation: 323 (sax)3 – 4331 – timp, 4 perc, harp, solo pn – strings.

Jaromiluna, for violin and harp

Commissioned by Andrés Cárdenes. Premiered at the Skaneateles Music Festival (New York) on September 1st, 1989; Andrés Cárdenes, violin; Deborah Hoffman, harp. Approx. duration: 12 minutes. Performed later at the 1994 Berlioz Festival in Saint Andre, France.

Mar Acá, for flute, ideophones (maracas, chéquere, rain stick) and chamber orchestra

Commissioned by Patty and Gustavo Cisneros for Sinfonietta Caracas. Premiered in Caracas at the 1989 gathering of the Society of the Americas, February 16; Luis Julio Toro, soloist; Sinfonietta Caracas conducted by Eduardo Marturet. The European premiere took place in Barcelona, Spain, by the Orquestra de Cambra Teatre Lliure under the baton of Josep Pons; October 25, 1990. It was recently performed at New York’s Weill Recital Hall by Luis Julio Toro and members of the American Composers Orchestra; December 1st, 1994. Approx. duration: 13 minutes. Instrumentation: 0120 – 0111 – perc, pn, harp, solo fl/perc. – strings **

Sinfonietta Concertante, for woodwind quintet and string orchestra

Commissioned by Fundación Ricardo Zuloaga to commemorate Heitor Villa-Lobos’ 100th anniversary. Premiered in Caracas by Sinfonietta Caracas under the baton of Eduardo Marturet; August 9, 1987. It was performed immediately afterwards in New York City at the Washington Square Music Festival conducted by Tania León, and several years later at Town Hall by the Cosmopolitan Symphony. Approx. duration: 18 minutes.

La Historia Tropical, for narrator and seven instruments

Commissioned by Teatro Teresa Carreño as a parallel work to Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Based on the story El Pobre Cucarachero by Venezuelan author Antonio Arraiz. Premiered in Caracas at the Teatro CANTV on April 30, 1986; Alberto Rowinsky, narrator; Macarena Solórzano, ballerina; Carmen Helena Téllez, conductor. Since then, the work has been performed in Venezuela on many occasions by different ensembles.  Approx. duration: 45 minutes. ** Instrumentation: 0011 – 0110 – perc – vl, DB.

Lascia Ch’io Pianga, for string quartet

In three movements. Based on the famous aria from the opera “Rinaldo” by George F. Handel. Premiered at Indiana University’s Recital Hall on January 31, 1986 by a student quartet: Darren Lowe and Beth Miller, violins; Stacia Spencer, viola; Suzana Stefanovich, cello. It was performed again in 1988 by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano during the X Foro Internacional de Música Nueva. Approx. duration: 16 minutes.

Triántico, for recorder, guitar, and harpsichord

Written for Aldo and Abraham Abreu. Premiered at Indiana University’s Recital Hall on January 31, 1986; Luca Pelligrini, recorder; Feliu Gasull, guitar; Larry Hamberlin, harpsichord. Second performance took place at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana on December 1st, 1988; Aldo Abreu, recorder; Feliu Gasull, guitar; Ricardo Lorenz; harpsichord. Approx. duration: 10 minutes.

Bachangó, for solo piano

Premiered by Ricardo Lorenz at Indiana University’s Recital Hall; April 25, 1984. The work was revised immediately thereafter and has been performed since then by a dozen pianists all throughout Europe, North and South America. It was performed for the first time in its revised version by Manuel Losada and soon afterwards by Anthony de Mare at Bargemusic Hall during the First New York International Festival of the Arts; June 23, 1988. Approx. duration: 5 minutes. **

Delirio y Descanso, overture for mixed chorus and orchestra.

Commissioned by Consejo Nacional de la Cultura (CONAC) to commemorate the 154th anniversary of Simón Bolivar’s death. Premiered in Caracas at the Sala Rios Reyna by the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela together with the Teatro Teresa Carreño Chorus conducted by Eduardo Marturet; December 17, 1984. Approx. duration: 8 minutes. Instrumentation: 3233 – 4331 – timp, perc, pn, harp – strings.

Variaciones Aldana, for flute and string quartet

Premiered by Ricardo Lorenz at Indiana University’s Recital Hall; April 25, 1984. The work was revised immediately thereafter and has been performed since then by a dozen pianists all throughout Europe, North and South America. It was performed for the first time in its revised version by Manuel Losada and soon afterwards by Anthony de Mare at Bargemusic Hall during the First New York International Festival of the Arts; June 23, 1988. Approx. duration: 5 minutes. **

Concertino for Timpani and Percussion

Written for timpanist Stuart Marrs who premiered it at Indiana University’s Recital Hall accompanied by a student ensemble conducted by Carmen Helena Téllez; April 25, 1984. The Concertino has been performed by several groups and soloists including the Maelstrom Ensemble, percussionists Jan Williams and Rolando Morales, among others. Approx. duration: 15 minutes.