Rate My Professor Ariel Quintana

Ariel Quintana serves as Chair and Associate Professor of Music in the Arts and Culture faculty at La Sierra University, where he is Director of Choral Studies. Born in Libertador San Martin, Entre Rios, Argentina, he began studying piano at the age of three. Quintana earned his BM in Music Education with a specialty in Piano from Universidad Adventista del Plata, an MM in Piano Performance from the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires, and a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. His principal teachers include Estrella Steger, Perla Brugola, Julio Fainguersh, Valdo Sciammarella, Waldemar Wensell, Paul Salamunovich, David Wilson, Morten Lauridsen, and William Dehning.

Quintana's career encompasses significant roles such as Assistant Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale for four years, Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and Artistic Director of the Sierra Linda Master Chorale and orchestra in Riverside, California. He founded the choral ensemble Opus 7. Under his direction, choirs have toured Europe, Japan, and South America. As a composer, his works include Hodie Christus Natus Est for double chorus a cappella, published by Alliance Music Publishing, premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale in December 2000, and performed at the ACDA National Convention in New York in February 2003. Ave Verum Corpus, released by Santa Barbara Publishing, premiered under his direction with the Cathedral Choir at Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He self-published Mass From Two Worlds, recorded by Opus 7, and recorded Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla with the La Sierra University Chamber Singers and Anthony León. Additional choral works are distributed by JW Pepper in the United States and PanaMusica in Japan and Taipei. His arrangements and compositions have been performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Paul Salamunovich and Grant Gershon. Quintana presented his compositions at National and Regional ACDA Conventions in 2016, 2018, and 2020 and remains an active member of the American Choral Directors Association.