A native of Mexico now making his mark on New York City, Horacio Fernández is a classical composer by day and an urban music producer by night. His compositions are infused with the vibrant colors and dance rhythms of urban Latin America, defying genre boundaries and catching the ear of major orchestras across the world. He is equally at home writing relatable lyrics for pop songs, creating swell beats for rappers, and composing music for film.
The 2024/2025 season features performances of Horacio’s music kicking off with conductor Mei-Ann Chen and the Chicago Sinfonietta, who will open their season with his Tumbao (Latin Suite for Orchestra); Pablo Zamora will lead the Nashville Symphony in multiple performances of his composition Flare for their Día de Muertos events; Missak Baghboudarian leads the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Tumbao at the Damascus Center; and cuban pianist extraordinaire Nachito Herrera will premiere Tumbao with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra at the Havana International Jazz festival. Horacio’s orchestral music is published by Boosey & Hawkes and Earshot Publishing, and he has served as composer-in-residence with the Empire State Youth Symphony and the Chelsea Symphony.
Horacio’s most recent commissions include works for the Albany Symphony, the Little Orchestra Society, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and Dogs of Desire. His music has been performed and recorded by leading artists and ensembles such as the Oregon Symphony, The Juilliard Orchestra, Zlatomir Fung, Tony Glausi, and Mathew Whitaker among others. His music has been increasingly recognized with awards such as the Arturo Márquez Competition, the International Songwriting Competition, the James Galway Festival Composer Competition, and The Juilliard Composer’s Competition.
He has also been a recipient of fellowships and grants that have allowed him to fund his entrepreneurial pursuits such as Mexico’s Culture Secretariat, Nationa lSawdust’s Blueprint Fellowship, and Juilliard’s entrepreneurship center on multiple occasions. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School and his teachers and mentors include Melinda Wagner, Robert Beaser, Alan Belkin, Gonzalo Macías,and Arturo Márquez.
Learn more at www.horaciofernandezcomposer.com