inspiración

Cuba and its music have always been an integral part of the Catalyst quartet as our cellist, Karlos Rodriguez, is Cuban-American. In February of 2019, we were fortunate enough to visit the island in partnership with Cuba American Youth Orchestra and the Sphinx Organization. On that historic trip we shared a program with El Cuarteto de Cuerdas de la Habana and backstage heard them performing the music of Jorge Amado Molina. We were collectively electrified by his compositional voice and immediately inspired to develop a project that features the rich heritage of Cuban classical music with composers such as, Guido López-Gavilán, Tania León, Leo Brouwer, and Paquito D’Rivera in mind with Jorge’s unique modern voice. Together with friend and cellist Gabriel Cabezas we have commisioned a cello quintet from Jorge Amado and now feature it in concert along side works such as Schubert Cello Quintet and/or the above mentioned Cuban composers. Here is an example:

Tania Leon: Four Pieces for Solo Cello (1981)
Jorge Amado Molina: Triptico Cubano for string quartet (2016)
Paquito D’Rivera: three pieces for string quartet
But, Just one minute?! (2020), Farewell Mambo (2013), Wapango (1982)
Jorge Amado Molina: Quintet for string quartet and cello (2020)

Cellist Gabriel Cabezas is a true 21st century musician. A prolific and sought-after soloist and collaborator, he is as comfortable interpreting new works as he is with the pillar scores of the cello repertoire. Gabriel has appeared with America’s finest symphony orchestras, including those of Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland and New York, and has premiered dozens of new works by some of the most brilliant composers of his time. More info at gabrielcabezas.com.

JORGE AMADO MOLINA (b.1997)

A 2020 graduate of Havana’s Universidad de las Artes (ISA), Jorge Amado received “Título de Oro” honors as well as most integral student honors in both Composition and Violin. As a composer, Jorge has participated in several important Cuban festivals of contemporary music, such as Composition Awards Casa de las Américas, the Havana Contemporary Music Festival, the Havana Chamber Music Festival and Festival Música Nova. Jorge has performed in the violin sections of several orchestras, such as the Orchestra of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT), conducted by Miguel Patterson; the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, conducted by Orbert Davis in a Chicago performance; the Cuban American Youth Orchestra (CAYO), conducted by James Ross; and the Ibero-American Virtual Orchestra, collaborating with Arturo Márquez and Jorge Drexler. He has also been featured in five recordings as a soloist.

A member of Agencia Cubana de Derecho de Autor Musical (ACDAM) and Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), Jorge has received numerous accolades and awards in composition: Musicalia 2015, 2017 and 2018 sponsored by Universidad de las Artes (ISA); 1st Prize in the UNEAC Composition Competition "Harold Gramatges" 2015 (Cuba); Finalist of the Alfred Schnittke Competition and Composers' Forum 2016 (Ukraine); 8SW Composition Competition Award, New York, (USA) 2018; Ojalá Symphonic Creation Award 2018 (Cuba); International Composition Contest for String Quartet “Nuestra América” 2019 (Mexico); and winner of Conmutaciones Scholarship 2019, sponsored by AHS (Cuba). Jorge’s music has been performed in Cuba, USA, Holland, Germany, Italy, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Cuban American youth orchestra

The Cuban American Youth Orchestra (CAYO) is an ensemble of young American and Cuban musicians which promotes cultural diplomacy through collaboration, performance and education.