LORENA GARAY: Classical, Spanish and Latin Guitarist

Lorena Garay, a native of Puerto Rico, loves to perform music with a strong Spanish guitar flavor, equally as a soloist, a bandleader and a collaborative guitarist. She holds a Master of Music degree Summa Cum Laude from The Hartt School and a Bachelor of Music degree Summa Cum Laude from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.

Lorena’s guitar arrangements and passionate playing style beautifully blend the classical influence with her Latin sound. This is a unique feature of her style. She also composes, records and produces broadcast quality Latin music for use in television.

Lorena Garay has self-produced two albums: “La Guitarra de Puerto Rico”, a featured CD of the Greater Hartford Arts Council's 2004 United Arts Gift Giving Campaign, and “Surcari”, which recently won a Just Plain Folks third place music award.

Other awards received by Ms. Garay include: The Hartt School Guitar Department Award and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico String Department Gold Medal. Recently, she received the Latino de Oro 2009 Award for Music.

Lorena has performed extensively throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, both as a soloist and a multi-instrumentalist in various musical groups, including Surcari. Lorena Garay and her band Surcari are on the Young Audiences of Connecticut Performing Artist roster, the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism Performing Artist Roster and the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEST) Roster.

Current Projects

Lorena Garay is currently composing, recording and producing a bilingual recording for children based on the folklore and culture of Puerto Rico and Latin America. The CD will be released in May of 2010.

Formal Education

Lorena earned her Master of Music degree Summa Cum Laude from the Hartt School of Music, where she received the Guitar Department Award. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree Summa Cum Laude from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, from which she received the String Department Gold Medal Award. Lorena holds a music diploma from "La Escuela De Las Artes" in Carolina, Puerto Rico, where she graduated with high honors.

MUSICAL Studies

Lorena studied classical guitar with Richard Provost, Leonardo Egúrbida, Héctor Hance and Rafael París; flamenco guitar with José R. Ramos and Carlos Revollar; jazz guitar with Rich Goldstein; Cuban tres with Nelson González; Andean & South American instruments with Eugenio Huanca, and voice with Jose Paulo Santos.

Performance Experience

Lorena has performed extensively throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, both as a soloist and a multi-instrumentalist in various ensembles, including Surcari, Jose Gonzalez's Criollo Clasico, The Daniel Salazar Ensemble, Latin Spirits, Viva Quetzal, and Sol Sin Fronteras. She has also performed with a variety of artists, including folk singer Roy Brown, Puerto Rican rock figure Tito Auger, concert guitarist Federico Cordero, and flamenco guitarist Val Ramos, among others. At the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Pennsylvania, Lorena was the opening act of renowned guitar duo Strunz and Farah.

Performance Appearances

Lorena has appeared in performance at many major venues, such as: Western Carolina University-Recital Hall, Cullowhee, North Carolina; Colgate University, Hamilton, New York; The Bushnell, Hartford, Connecticut; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; Schoodic Arts for All, Winter Harbor, Maine; Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire; Nauticus National Maritime Center, Norfolk, Virginia; Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey; University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island; Middle Earth Music Hall, Bradford, Vermont; WV Cultural Center Theater at State Capitol Complex, Charleston, West Virginia; Feria del Barrio Festival, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Festival Artscape, Baltimore, Maryland; Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, Massachusetts; Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York; Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island; St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, New York;  Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Calvin Theater, Northampton, Massachusetts; Casa Aboy, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Isothermal Community College, Spindale, North Carolina; Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut; University of Connecticut, West Hartford, Connecticut; Gateway Community College, New Haven, Connecticut; Chandler Music Hall, Randolph, Vermont; Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; Bronx Community College, Bronx, New York; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut; Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Hillstead Museum, Farmington, Connecticut; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts; Harrisburg Area Community College, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Housatonic Community College, Bridgeport, Connecticut; Holyoke Community College, Holyoke, Massachusetts; Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Joseph College, Hartford, Connecticut; among others.

ComposiNG EXPERIENCE

Lorena Garay just finished composing, recording and producing a 15-track instrumental Latin Ska CD commissioned by the TV Sports Channel ESPN. Lorena composed and performed the music for "The Pueblo", a play about the Américas written by HartBeat Ensemble, and premiered at the Austin Arts Center, Trinity College in 2007. Lorena also composed and recorded the music for the 2007 season of the TV show: "Salu2 Nueva Inglaterra" by Telemundo WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield. Original tracks from Lorena’s first recording have been used by permission on the Homeowners Video by the Hartford Public Library featuring Hartford Major Eddie Pérez in 2004.

Discography

v  2007 "Surcari", produced by Lorena Garay. 2009 Just Plain Folks Third Place Music Award Winner in the category of South and Central American Album.

v  2003 "La Guitarra de Puerto Rico", produced by Lorena Garay. Featured CD of the Greater Hartford Arts Council's 2004 United Arts Gift Giving Campaign.

v  2004 "Fundzilla 2004", a compilation CD produced by WPKN Radio 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT.

v  2004 Jose Gonzalez and Banda Criolla's "Navidad Boricua", Lorena Garay on vocals.

v  2003 Jose Gonzalez and Banda Criolla's "Bomba Le Lé", Lorena Garay on Cuban tres.

v  2003 Daniel Salazar's "Mosaico", Lorena Garay on rhythm guitar.

v  2001 Daniel Salazar's "Daniel Salazar", Lorena Garay on rhythm guitar.

v  2001 "New England Landscapes", a compilation CD produced by the Connecticut Guitar Society.

v  1999 "The Gift of the Guitar", a compilation CD produced by the Connecticut Guitar Society.

Awards

v  Latino de Oro 2009 Award in the category of Music, Identidad Latina Hispanic Newspaper.

v  Just Plain Folks 2009 third place music award in the category of South and Central American Album for the album “Surcari”, Just Plain Folks Music Organization.

v  Guitar Department Award, Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford.

v  String Department Gold Medal Award, Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.

v  Medal for Excellence, Connecticut National Guard.

v  Plaque Recognition, The CT Association of Affirmative Action Scholarship Fund.

v  United Arts Operational Grant, Greater Hartford Arts Council.

v  Tuition Scholarship and Teaching Fellowship, Hartt School of Music.

v  Robert I. Ferdman Scholarship, Pro Arte Musical, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

v  Corporación de las Artes Musicales Scholarship, CAM, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

v  Biography Published in the 18th & 19th Annual Editions of the National Dean's List.

PERFORMING ARTIST ROSTERS

v  Young Audiences of Connecticut Performing Artist Roster

v  CT Commission on Culture and Tourism Performing Artist Roster

v  New England Foundation for the Arts (NEST) Roster

Professional Affiliations

v  American Association of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP)

v  Music Honor Society "Pi Kappa Lambda"

v  Connecticut Guitar Society (Board member for two years)

MASTER CLASSES ATTENDED

International guitarists Pepe Romero, Angel Romero, Ricardo Cobo, Andrew York, Michel Sadanowsky, Ernesto Cordero, and Ivan Rijos, among others.

Guitar Workshops ATTENDED

Guitar Foundation of America International Convention, Montreal, Canada; The Stetson International Guitar Workshop, DeLand, FL; The National Guitar Summer Workshop, New Milford, CT; and The Berklee School in Puerto Rico, sponsored by Berklee College of Music; among others.

Teaching Artist Institutes Attended

Cultivating the Field, Second and Third Annual Teaching Artist Institutes at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA; Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture, First, Second and Third Annual Teaching Artist Institutes, sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Springfield, MA; and the 7th Annual NECAP Conference for Teaching Artists and their Arts Partners, Hartford, CT.

Artist Residencies Provided

Four-Day Artist Residency at Germán Gerena Community School, Springfield, MA; Ten-Day Artist Residency at Rebecca M. Johnson Visual and Performing Arts School, Springfield, MA; Five-Day Artist Residency at Alice B. Beal School, Springfield, MA; Five-Day Artist Residency at Chestnut Accelerated Middle School, Springfield, MA; Five-Day Artist Residency at Germán Gerena Community School, Springfield, MA; Five-Day Artist Residency at Lincoln Elementary School, Springfield, MA; Five-Day Artist Residency at Forest Park Middle School, Springfield, MA; Six-Week and Three-Week Artist Residencies at Danzante, A Latino Cultural Center, Arts & Music Summer Camp, Harrisburg, PA.

PAST Teaching Experience

Lorena has been on the music faculties of: The Hartt School Community Division at the University of Hartford; The American International College in Springfield, MA; The Community Music School of Springfield, MA; and The Puerto Rican Cultural Center Guakia in Hartford, CT. For two years, she was the director of the guitar ensemble of the Connecticut Guitar Society. Lorena stopped teaching five years ago to devote all her time to her performing career. However, Lorena is still active in the educational field doing school performances, workshops and artist residencies.