Full Biography
Since coming to the U.S. in 2003 to study with Jonathan Cohler, Colombian clarinetist Benito Meza has appeared with the Boston Philharmonic, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Washington, D.C.’s Modern Music Set, the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, the Modern Music Ensemble, the Los Angeles Wind Ensemble, and on Harvard University’s Chamber Music series, among many others. He has also performed and studied with such renowned musicians and conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Cuper, Paquito D’Rivera, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, Ricardo Morales, Charles Neidich, and Luis Rossi, and has appeared in Boston’s Jordan Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Sanders Theater at Harvard, as well as in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, and at Lincoln Center. He recently recorded famed pianist and composer Danilo Pérez’s White for woodwind quintet, for the Mack Avenue Records label.
Mr. Meza grew up in a musical family, and first studied music with his father. At the age of 14 he began clarinet lessons with Carlos Julio Parra Vivas in his native city of Valledupar, and at 17 was awarded a full scholarship to Javeriana University’s music program, where he studied with Hector Pinzon and Christopher Jepperson. In 2001 he was invited to study at the National Institute of Musical Studies in Venezuela with Valdemar Rodriguez and Edgar Pronio, and joined Venezuela’s world-famous music education program, El Sistema. As a member of the celebrated Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, he made television appearances with Maestro Andrés Briceño.
Also a composer, Mr. Meza’s compositions and development as a musician have been greatly influenced by the wealth of varied forms of music he was exposed to throughout his childhood. From the beginning of his career, he was involved with both classical and jazz music, and Colombian folk music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and contemporary improvisation are also represented in the structure of his compositions.
A winner of Astral Artists’ 2009 National Auditions, Benito Meza appears in chamber performances on Astral’s 2010-2011 concert series.
Updated: JUNE 2010
