Chris Urquiaga
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | MAJOR
Music
Press
The most notable work from my perspective occurred in the second half, the song cycle “Vamo La!” (“Let’s Go!) for chorus and chamber orchestra and tenor solo by Chris Urquiaga (as the soloist), a first generation American from Silver Spring, MD, with ancestry from Brazil and Peru. The songs are programmatic. “Those Times” relates trying to restore a broken romance; “Amor Produndo” is a Spanish setting about a woman unexpectedly changes a man’s life; “Vamo La!” itself is about a Brazilian festival. YouTube indicates that the work has ten parts. The idiom is a mixture of pop and post-romantic lushness (as performed here), while Latino to a point, somewhat recalling Leonard Bernstein’s mixture of Broadway and Mahler-like idioms, perhaps. - Bill's Media Commentary
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Chris Urquiaga is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Silver Spring, Maryland. He graduated from The Eastman School of Music in 2014, where he majored in Music Composition. During his time there, he recorded, performed, and wrote music for his own band, a cappella groups, orchestras, choirs, and various chamber ensembles. He is an Artist at Residence at Strathmore Music Center for the 2016-2017 Season. He has had interviews and live performances broadcast on ABC News and Univision. In August 2013, he was invited to play at The White House for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Commemoration, which was hosted and organized by President Obama and the First Lady. He has been commissioned by the Congressional Chorus, in Washington DC, to compose 3 original works; in 2012 for their 25th Anniversary Concert, in 2013 for a concert entitled “Shakespeare Sings”, and in 2016 for a concert entitled “Young, Hip, and Global”. In 2011, he was commissioned by world-renowned soprano, Carmen Balthrop, to compose two original compositions in Portuguese. He was also commissioned by the Prince George’s Philharmonic in 2013 to compose a piece as their featured season world premiere. In 2008, he received the Kennedy Center Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
Band Members
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