Composer

Enrico Chapela is one of Latin America’s most exciting young talents of contemporary music. He received his education at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música (CIEM) in his hometown Mexico City and at the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (UK) and the Trinity College of London. In 2000 he began to compose, supported by various scholarships, including the National Fund for Arts and Culture (FONCA) and the CIEM. From 2006-2009 he worked as a guitarist and composer in Paris, where he graduated in 2008 with composition studies at the University of St. Denis with Horacio Vaggione and José Manuel López López with the Maîtrise. He received his doctorate in musicology from the University of St. Denis with Ivanka Stoianova and José Manuel López López. Since 2009 he again lives in Mexico.

Chapela’s works have received many awards, including the International Rostrum of Composers by UNESCO, the Mexican Music Tribune and the Alexander Zemlinsky Composition Competition. His best known work is the orchestral piece ínguesu, which uses the battle cries of the fans in the Mexico-Brazil final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1999 as a thematic and rhythmic material and translates it into a virtuoso, rhythmic and colour exploding score.

Enrico Chapela has been commissioned to compose new works for orchestras and ensembles worldwide, among them the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dresdner Sinfoniker, Berkeley Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and many others. His music has been performed in Latin America, North America, Asia and Europe by performers such as the Chicago Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Jenaer Philharmonie, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, Orquesta Brasileira, London Sinfonietta and many, many more.

Some of the conductors that have conducted his music include: Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Marin Alsop, Joana Carneiro, Krzysztof Urbanski, Alondra de la Parra, Andrew Cyr, Cliff Colnot, José Luis Castillo, José Areán, Joshua Dos Santos, Mark Gibson, Giancarlo Guerrero, Jason Love, Pascal Rophé, Stefan Asbury, Nicholas Milton, Daryl Pratt, Clark Rundell, Max Lifchitz, David Alan Miller, Enrique Barrios, Diego Matheuz, Olari Elts, Eckart Preu, Darrel Ang, Miguel Salmón de Real, Leslie Dunner, Luis Gorelik, Marcos Arkakaki, Germán Tort, Roberto Beltrán, Garry Walker, Edwin Outwater, Roberto Minczuk, Iván del Prado, Niksa Bareza, David Bloom and Jorge Mester.

Chapela has also composed Mexican film scores: “Somos lo que hay”, directed by Jorge Michel Grau, obtaining a nomination for best original music score at the Mexican Film Academy 2011. “Amar no es querer”, directed by Guillermo Barba, was selected “Best Original Music Score” at the “Pantalla de Cristal” film festival.

Enrico Chapela’s music has been broadcasted in more than 40 countries all over the world. He teaches composition at NICO academy, and hosts a contemporary music radio show called METAMUSICA, broadcasted at OPUS 94 radio station.