ERIC ESTRADA VALADEZ
Composer
Bio
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Eric Estrada’s music balances his artistic voice with his cultural roots and explores themes such as migration, nature, and the fusion of academic and popular music. He is also interested in narrative and storytelling, frequently drawing inspiration from poetry and literature.
His music has been performed in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and has received several awards, including the Arturo MaĢrquez Composition Award (2019). In addition, he has won a number of competitions, including SOLI'S 30x30x30 Project (2024), MUSIQA’s Emergent Composer’s Competition (2023), The Composers Competition New Symphony Vienna (2020), the National Composition Competition for Percussion Quartet SAFA (2019), and the Joaquín Gutierrez Heras Composition Competition (2017).
He has received commissions from MUSIQA, the Texas New Music Festival, AURA Contemporary Ensemble, Safa Percussion Quartet, Loop 38, the Korea International Music Academy, the Blaffer Museum, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. He has also been awarded grants from Mexico’s National Endowment for the Arts, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, the Arts Music Society, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His collaborations include ensembles and orchestras such as the Puebla State Symphony, Orquesta Mexicana de las Artes, the Moores Chamber Orchestra, Hub New Music, the Kazoku Saxophone Quartet, Project Fusion Quartet, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, and the Vortice Ensemble. In addition, his music has been selected for performance at festivals including the Tutti International Music Festival, CampGround 2024, New Music on the Bayou, the Festival of New American Music, Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Texas New Music Festival, and others.
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He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in musical composition from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in composition at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music under the guidance of Rob Smith.
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Artistic Statement
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My need for creating music comes from a necessity to understand myself and those around me. When I write, I try to make sense of the world inside me by translating emotions and impressions into sounds. By collaborating with other musicians to bring my music to life, I aim to enhance my relationship with my community, and the dialogue that arises from these interactions helps me better appreciate human connections.
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As a Mexican composer, I strive to balance my artistic voice with my cultural roots. Having performed many different styles in a wide variety of ensembles in Mexico City has shaped my aural world, and I enjoy blending Latin rhythms and tropes with contemporary composition. Rock, pop, and jazz have also been essential parts of my musical space, and many of these influences can be traced in my music.
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Nature, literature, and poetry are major driving factors in my creative process, and many of my pieces are inspired by narrative or extramusical content. I believe that narrative and storytelling are extremely effective for structuring musical form, and I feel a deep creative connection when working on a piece that engages with other disciplines.
I feel grateful to be part of an art form with centuries of great music, yet one that is always recreating itself to remain relevant and reflect on our present world. I enjoy diving into a Bach fugue to find inspiration on how to develop a musical theme, as much as I enjoy exploring LutosÅawski’s late works to get ideas on how to create interesting textures. I seek to balance my relationship with musical tradition and current compositional techniques, as both enhance my musical language and give context to the music I write.
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I believe that musical form can be perceived by everyone in the audience, regardless of their musical background. My interest in musical form and narrative is driven by the need to create a connection with the public, and aesthetics that aim to make musical structure audible directly inform my creative process.
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