Chicago-land based composer, guitarist, and music engraver.

Richard Ortiz lives in the Chicago-land area working as a composer, guitarist, and music engraver. Though he writes mainly for acoustic instruments, Richard draws inspiration for his compositions from different influences including electronica, jazz, metal, punk, and classical music. In his compositions, he tries to combine the energy and the most interesting elements of those different styles into a new and intriguing whole. Richard?s commissioned and non-commissioned work alike receives praise for sounding fresh, interesting, and being highly entertaining.

Some honors and awards Richard has received include full honors for his master?s thesis, an orchestral work called Narrow Daylight; third place in the 2004-2005 Seymour and Virginia La Rock Composition Competition for his string quartet Persistence in the Face of Adversity, which has become String Quartet in Two Movements; a graduate assistantship for composition and a Performing Arts scholarship for composition at the Chicago College of Performing Arts; and while at Valparaiso University, Richard received the MTNA Student Recognition Award for excellence in teaching, a music scholarship for guitar performance, and graduated Suma cum Laude.

Richard has earned a Master of Music degree in composition from the Chicago College of Performing Arts where he studied composition with Dr. Stacy Garrop. While at CCPA, he also had the opportunity to study with the Hungarian composer Dr. Gyula Fekete and partake in master classes with Chicago composers Jan Bach and Frank Ferko. Richard also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN where he studied under Dr. Dennis Friesen-Carper. While at V.U., he also studied with Dr. Philip Ghering and took a master class with Minneapolis composer Randall Davidson.

Richard also performs and teaches classical and jazz guitar in a variety of venues. He continually studied classical and jazz guitar throughout graduate and undergraduate school. At V.U., Richard played in the school?s jazz big band and several combos as well as performing in classical guitar ensembles and along with his professors and colleagues in recitals. Richard?s classical guitar teachers include Michael Adamczyk, James Kunsbruk, and Pamela Kimmel, head of the classical guitar department at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. His jazz guitar teachers include Mario Moreno, Jason Golday, and Bill Borris.

Richard currently lives in Valparaiso, IN with his wife and two sons.

It is my strong desire that people experience the joy, spirituality and excitement that I feel when I listen to music. I hope to achieve this by writing music that incorporates various elements that I enjoy from different genres in order to create something new and fresh. I sincerely want people to be touched in a deep and meaningful way when they listen to my music.

Orchestral Work 2005-2006

Narrow Daylight
2222 4221 Timp, 2 Perc, Piano 86442
Duration: 14 minutes


Chamber Works

2006:
Christmas Gift
Choir and Guitar
Duration: 2.5 minutes

Duet for Violin and Guitar
Duration: approximately 5 minutes

SDG
Solo Guitar
Duration: 6 minutes

2004-2005:
Destruction of the New Glass House
Guitar quartet
Duration: 6 minutes

Movements for String Quartet
Duration: Flexible

War Songs
Mezzo-soprano, cello, guitar
Duration: 20 minutes

Guitar Solo 2005
Duration: 6 minutes

Study for Mixed Ensemble
Flute, Bassoon, Horn, Trombone, String quartet, Percussion
Duration: 6 minutes