About
A member of G. Schirmer’s prestigious roster of artists, Frank creates work that incorporates Latino/Latin American mythology, archeology, art, poetry, and folk music into western classical forms, reflecting her Peruvian-American heritage. Among numerous awards, Frank has received a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2009 Latin Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and a 2010 United States Artists Fellowship given each year to fifty of America’s finest artists across eight disciplines.
Frank’s compositions have been described by critics as “luminous… bursting with fresh originality” (Los Angeles Times), “of unearthly beauty” (Miami Sun-Sentinel), and “brilliant” (Chicago Tribune). In 2011, the all-Frank Naxos CD “Hilos” broke into the top 100 classical recordings on Billboard in the first week of its release and earned Frank a 2012 Grammy nomination as pianist with the Alias Ensemble in the category of Best Small Ensemble Performance. The Berkeley Symphony gave the West Coast premiere of Frank’s Peregrinos (Pilgrims) at Music Director Joana Carneiro’s debut concert in October 2009. Peregrinos, originally composed for the Indianapolis Symphony, depicts a world inspired by the stories of Latino immigrants in Indianapolis and was the subject of the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary “Peregrinos/Pilgrims: A Musical Journey.”
Other recent premieres include New Andean Songs for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella new music series, ¡Chayraq! for Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Quijotadas for the Brentano String Quartet, Tres Mitos de Mi Tierra for the King’s Singers, and La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove) for soprano Dawn Upshaw and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Joana Carneiro (based on original new texts by frequent collaborator and Pulitzer Prize playwright Nilo Cruz). Frank is currently at work on new compositions for the Berkeley Symphony (in collaboration with soprano Jessica Rivera and the San Francisco Girls Chorus), the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale (in collaboration with the Andean music group Huayucaltia), and guitarist Manuel Barrueco, among others.
Born in Berkeley in 1972, Frank holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Rice University, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She currently resides in Oakland and travels often to Latin America.
Upcoming Concert
April 26, 2012 A Hungarian Excursion
Additional Information
To learn more about Gabriela Lena Frank, please visit the composer’s page .
