Rate My Professor Orlando Garcia

Orlando Garcia, Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Composition in the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts at Florida International University, specializes in contemporary classical music composition within the Arts and Culture faculty. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1954 and having migrated to the United States in 1961, he holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Spanish Literature from Frostburg State University (1977), an M.M. in Theory and Composition from the University of Miami (1982), and a D.M.A. in Music Composition from the University of Miami (1984). At FIU since the early 1980s, Garcia has held key positions including Coordinator of the Music Composition Program since 1987, Director of the School of Music (2010-2014), Graduate Program Director (1997-2005), and Composer in Residence. He founded and directs the FIU New Music Ensemble, NODUS Ensemble, Miami Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), and the annual New Music Miami ISCM Festival. Additionally, he serves as Resident Composer for the Miami Symphony Orchestra and Composer-in-Residence for CARTA Miami Beach Urban Studios.

Garcia has composed more than 200 works across diverse genres, including orchestral, choral, chamber, electroacoustic, interdisciplinary, and site-specific pieces, often featuring electronics and collaborations with visual artists. Influenced by Morton Feldman, his music is noted for its haunting sonic explorations and suspended time structures. Notable compositions include Auschwitz (nunca se olvidarán) for orchestra and choir premiered by the New World Symphony Orchestra in 1994; transcending time, an experimental video opera premiered at the Zagreb Biennale in 2009; In Memoriam Earle Brown for orchestra premiered by the Miami Symphony Orchestra in 2011; and el viento distante for clarinet and orchestra premiered by the Lviv Philharmonic in 2012. His works have been performed internationally by prestigious ensembles such as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra, and Continuum Ensemble, at festivals including ICMC, SEAMUS, Cervantino, and Spring in Havana. Recordings appear on labels like New Albion, Innova, Albany, CRI, and Toccata Classics. Awards encompass two Fulbright artist/lectureships (Venezuela 1991-92, Spain 1996-97), Rockefeller residencies (Bellagio 1999, American Academy in Rome 2000), two Cintas Fellowships, a Florida Composer’s Fellowship (2001), international competition prizes, and five Latin Grammy nominations (2009-2011, 2015, 2021).