Performing Latin American Choral Music – Cristian Grases

A fascinating aspect of Latin American music is its diversity both among and within countries or regions. Each country has musical expressions that represent various cultures, ethnic groups, cultural backgrounds, regional flavours, instrumentation, and even particular cadences and accents in the language. Throughout time, choral music in Latin America has been an excellent outlet for national identity as well as a fruitful space for cultural cross-pollination. Here we explore the nine most important considerations in performing Latin American choral music appropriately.

Cristian Grases is professor of choral music at the Thornton School of Music (USC) and conducts the prestigious USC Thornton Concert Choir. Born in Venezuela, he earned degrees from the Simón Bolívar University (MM) in Caracas and the University of Miami (DMA). An award-winning conductor and composer, he has appeared at many international events as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator and lecturer. His new choral series “The Choral Music of Latin America and the Caribbean” is an editorial outlet for Latin American choral repertoire.