You’ve heard of mariachi, right? It’s a type of ensemble that’s known for playing music known as ranchera, which evolved over time from the country sides of Mexico. While this music is alive and well in it’s traditional form, it’s also made its way into the orchestral world, thanks to one very clever Mexican composer. Hola – me llamo Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy we’re headed south of the border with music of Señor Juan Pablo Contreras.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Juan Pablo Contreras has taken the classical world by storm with his unique way of blending traditional Mexican aesthetics with the powers of a symphony orchestra. His works have been performed by over 2 dozen orchestras in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela, shining a light on both his culture and an orchestra’s ability to add a little spice to their programming. This work by Juan Pablo has proven to be his most popular – it’s a mariachi inspired composition called Mariachitlán.
In addition to several awards and honors, Juan Pablo has made a bit of history in his career, so far, becoming the both the youngest Mexican composer to be nominated for a Latin Grammy and the first Mexican-born composer to sign with Universal Music. He’s single handedly exposed countless orchestral audiences the traditions of Música Mexicana earning him a spot as one of today’s most Noteworthy composers.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.