Dreamer’s March for quintet and youth orchestra (2015)
Retrospectives (2015)
Both works were commissioned by Quintet of the Americas with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
About DREAMERS’ MARCH:
An important part of the collaboration between the Quintet of the Americas and composer Harold Gutiérrez, since the beginning of the Memory Project, has been the integration of the CORONA YOUTH MUSIC PROJECT. The first organization in Queens that is part of “El Sistema”, founded by Alvaro Rodas, and created to empower youth and promote social inclusion through music education. The impact of this program on the community of Corona Queens, for the last five years, has been very positive. Parents give their testimonials; they see Rodas’ duty with admiration and value the program’s contribution to their children’s education.
Gutierrez proposed the CORONA YOUTH MUSIC PROJECT for the composition of an original piece allowing the interaction of the children with the Quintet.
Based on the experiences of the children, their families and teachers, the work reflects the spirit of the program. It evokes the community’s pride and joy of seeing the children attending rehearsals and concerts, carrying their instruments with love and dreams to fulfill. www.nucleocorona.org
About RETROSPECTIVES:
In the Memory Project Stage II the stories and experiences of senior members of the Latin American Cultural Center in Queens, converge to develop the composition of a new music work by composer Harold Gutiérrez.
The composition of this new work is not only framed in a series of memories; but also in the significance of being a Latino immigrant; and what it means to leave their homeland to go to a “very different ” place, as some have said.
The Latin American Cultural Center of Queens, founded in 1993 by Nayibe Berger, was a comprehensive nonprofit organization for Hispanic art and culture. The LACCQ organized a dance the last Sunday of each month in which members gathered to spend a few hours with music and fun. What united them all was a wonderful outpouring of happiness and the enjoyment of music and dance.
Latinos are well known around the world for being joyful, passionate and for celebrating life with full of excitement spirit. What better way to ratify it when we meet a group of Latin American men and women who have already spent a lifetime of happiness, hopes, sorrows and difficulties; but gather to celebrate all that with joy and camaraderie in a monthly dance.
After having the opportunity to chat with several members of the LACCQ we found a beautiful common tone. All of them have their own life stories and every immigrant experience is unique. However, the most beautiful thing we found among them was their will to look back with love and joy. Despite any difficulties experienced, they all talk about their life with pride and happiness. With gleam in their eyes and willing to gather and rejoice. A poetical way of sharing their journey and celebrating it in RETROSPECTIVES.
Performance Note: Composer specifies unusual seating positions: the clarinet should sit in the middle of the quintet with Horn and bassoon to the right and left of clarinet. Also flute and oboe are to sit on opposing sides.
rger of the Latin American Culural Center of Queens introduced the Quintet to Queens composer Harold Gutiérrez. Native of Colombia, Harold studied at the National Conservatory of Colombia and the Superior Academy of Arts in Bogotá. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a Masters in Composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. He has been an active composer, arranger, pianist, session musician and educator since 2001. He has been Associate Music Director at the Society of Educational Arts in New York. His awards include 1st place in the Long Island League of Composers Competition, the City University of New York Michael Feinstein Scholarship, and the Theory and Composition Leo Kraft Award, and an ACE Award as music director of “Rhythms of Latin America,” His symphonic works Alboroque was a 2012 finalist, and Latin-American Journey won first place in the National Symphonic Competition hosted by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia.
For more information on Harold Gutiérrez visit his website :