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COMPOSITION REVIEWS
& WHIRLED MUSIC VENEZUELA "
When I met Christopher García at the LATIN AMERICAN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL in San Francisco, as he rehearsed and played one of his pieces for ancestral Mexican percussion instruments and wind quintet, I rediscovered something I had somehow lost track of throughout the years: a musician rooted in the rituals of magical performance. Beyond the external aspects of power, virtuosity or any other relative term of comparison, there was something unique coming across, akin to a religious experience, through his beats and rhythms. I think Christopher is definitely on the path of connecting the objects he strikes or shakes with the deeper currents of the soul. That's what I felt when he played; he's not only resuscitating old instruments, he's on a different search." COMPOSER PAUL DESENNE UNITED STATES Whereas Chavez and Revueltas utilized only Indigenous percussion instruments side by side with their Western classical percussion counterparts for their chamber and symphonic works Garcia incorporates Indigenous (melodic) breath instruments, Huilacapiztlis (ocarinas) tlapitzallis (straight flutes) chichtlis (clay whistles imitating bird sounds) and ehecatls (sound generators) as well as tawitols (Arco musical) side by side with their Western Chamber counterparts along with poetry and songs in Nahuatl, Purepecha, Seri and Spanish, creating a new consistent resonance since 2008.” PERFORMING ARTS LIVE GERMANY "While he has devoted much of his life to learning Indigenous music. Garcia also revels in playing the new and unexpected, Garcia's musical vocabulary not only spans centuries and cultures, it's also spontaneous." DEUTSCHE WELLE GERMANY’S INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTER UNITED KINGDOM "Christopher Garcia brings us into community with strangers, beloveds and practitioners from many fields. With profound curiosity about what is possible when we listen together, Garcia generates a shared experience of transformation and social growth." BHANU KAPIL, POET www.english.cam.ac.uk/people/Bhanu.Kapil UNITED STATES "Percussionist Chris Garcia nearly stole the show….” SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE MEXICO Christopher Garcia is a composer, improviser and musical polyglot who continues to garner popular and critical acclaim for his original compositions for Indigenous breath and percussion instruments of Mesoamerica/Mexico and India alongside either classical guitar, marimba, pedal harp, piano, violin, woodwind quintet and/or mixed chamber ensemble. TIEMPO LIBRE MAGAZINE ARTE Y CULTURA EN MÉXICO INDIA "We hear a variety of percussion, including instruments from India, Mexico and MesoAmerica. They sing and throb to the pulse of a single person, Christopher Garcia. He produces an extraordinary array of sound and rhythms, effortlessly weaving in and out of familiar Indian patterns to those of traditional MesoAmerica........." SRUTI MAGAZINE INDIA’S PREMIER MAGAZINE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS UNITED STATES Garcia’s “The Arc of Life,” whose heartbeat and heartstrings condensed more experience into 10 minutes than many a symphony musters while Scorzo’s scored violin parts provided frequent moments of distinct, patient beauty throughout. Mesoamerican instruments remain, and Garcia showed they can blend with European ones quite effectively…….he can embrace anything from fusion to Indigenous music…..he locates the common ground between bebop and Mayan ceremony….and transits abstract rhythms into a whisking groove, which like magic becomes a mystical drone… RESONANCE COLLECTIVE CONCERT FEATURING MUSIC COMPOSED FOR FLOWER SONGS MUSIC – INDIGENOUS INSTRUMENTS, VOICE MEXICO ATEMPORAL MUSIC – PIANO FORTE MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS – PEDAL HARP HARRY SCORZO – VIOLIN METAL JAZZ MEXICO "Christopher Garcia is a critically acclaimed composer, and virtuosic improviser on instruments not usually associated with just one musician including drumset, marimba, and instruments of North and South India and breath, string and percussion instruments of Mesoamerica, in every music combination possible – avant, classical, folkloric, Indigenous, jazz, rock, and world, with a virtual who’s who of musicians with performances in 28 countries on 5 continents." ATENCIÓN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MX UNITED STATES “Christopher Garcia, a native of East Los Angeles performs around the world as a multi-instrumentalist specializing in Mesoamerican instruments. From the intense, emotive arrangements of ‘La Llorona’ in both Spanish and Nahuatl by Yolanda Delgado Garcia and translated into Nahuatl by Dr. Ezekiel Stear, to the upbeat ‘Mayan Children’s Song’ by Christopher Garcia, the concert blended a wide depth of tones and styles in the songs they performed. Many of these songs were also accompanied with unique instruments courtesy of Garcia’s musical aptitude – specializing in Mesoamerican music, he performs with several instruments that most Americans are unfamiliar with. Garcia’s unique instruments added depth and authenticity to the performances." CLOVIS COLLEGE CONCERT REVIEW INDIA "Christopher Garcia, a multi-faceted percussionist, added an eclectic array of musical instruments from Mexico, India, and other places creating an imaginative array of sounds along with the movement." NARTHAKI.COM UNITED STATES “Garcia’s music resonates organically, and never seems contrived or slapped together as he draws from the rich color of sounds at his disposal, and where and how he chooses to place the silences within and around his compositions and performances. The music has a rhythmic complexity that propels and coexists with memorable melodies that tie the pieces together – combining and extending traditions, his is a unique voice in the tradition of composer/performer/ improviser with instruments not generally associated with the instruments of the ‘Western classical world.’” LATINOLA.COM UNITED KINGDOM Garcia’s performance was a journey of playful discovery and immersive sound. He commanded the stage with full-throated intensity, moving effortlessly between instruments that bridged centuries. The dozens of membranophones, ideophones, and aerophones he brought to life became voices of ancient memory, echoing the deep roots of musicality in the Americas. Within the intimate space, vibration, history, and emotion intertwined. Each tone carried the presence of living traditions, keeping ancestral sounds alive while transforming the moment into a shared act of listening, remembering, and reverence—a performance where past and present met in one continuous breath of sound and spirit. DR. JOSHUA FITZGERALD CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY UNITED STATES LOS ANGELES COUNTY’S FIRST SOUND ARTWORK COMMISSION “Siempre Ha Sido Y Siempre Fue” Sound artwork by Christopher Garcia Commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture for Atlantic Avenue Park, “Siempre Ha Sido Y Siempre Fue” is a 10-minute sound composition created for the park’s new facility. The work intricately layers the ancestral sounds of ancient Mesoamerica, employing traditional instruments such as the huilacapiztli (conch trumpet), clay ocarina, stone marimba, and Rarámuri double-sided drums. These instruments, once central to Mesoamerican ritual and daily life, echo the region’s remarkable innovations in architecture, urban design, and water systems—such as the sophisticated sanitation networks of the Mexica Empire in 1325. Garcia’s careful orchestration transforms the park into an immersive landscape of rhythm and reflection. Curated by Label Curatorial—Laura Whitcomb, Narin Dickerson, and Maryam Hosseinzadeh—this commission was funded through California State Parks’ Proposition 68 (RIRE) program. The installation invites visitors to pause, listen deeply, and consider how ancient sound, technology, and spirit continue to resonate in our modern world. |
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3/25/25
3/25/25
invited to compose and premiere
music for
CLOVIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Concert Choir
and
the Global Drumming Ensemble
under the direction of
Tony Gennaro (Director),
with
Joy Gaje (Piano Accompanist)
the performance featured world premieres of music for
Indigenous breath, percussion, and stringed instruments
global percussion
and
choir
music for
CLOVIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Concert Choir
and
the Global Drumming Ensemble
under the direction of
Tony Gennaro (Director),
with
Joy Gaje (Piano Accompanist)
the performance featured world premieres of music for
Indigenous breath, percussion, and stringed instruments
global percussion
and
choir
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11/2/SAT/24
11/2/SAT/24
RESONANCECOLLECTIVE .ORG
presents
RESONANCIA
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS NEW MUSIC CONCERT
for
INDIGENOUS BREATH, PERCUSSION AND
STRING INSTRUMENTS OF MESOAMERICA
PEDAL HARP
PIANO FORTE
VIOLIN
VOICE
presents
RESONANCIA
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS NEW MUSIC CONCERT
for
INDIGENOUS BREATH, PERCUSSION AND
STRING INSTRUMENTS OF MESOAMERICA
PEDAL HARP
PIANO FORTE
VIOLIN
VOICE
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DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
CONCERT REVIEW Flower Songs Music with Tasha Smith Godinez, Pablo Leñero and Harry Scorzo celebrate Dia de los Muertos at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, Nov. 2, 2024. Few take time to consider the vibrations from people in comas, or from others in non-mainstream states of consciousness, but Christopher Garcia and his Flower Songs Music are tuned in, especially on the Day of the Dead. Garcia's daughter Alegria, who sings in the group along with his wife, Yolanda, is also an archaeologist of Mesoamerica, bringing more resonances of the departed into play as the trio perform on indigenous drums, flutes, percussion instruments and strings. At this concert in a spacious church, Flower Songs Music augmented selections from their two recordings and newer material with frequent Garcia collaborator Tasha Smith Godinez (harp), Harry Scorzo (violin), and pianist-percussionist Pablo Leñero, who also offered one of his own compositions. They helped us absorb resonances that are always present. The root of the Flower sound was a tall, carved drum thumped with big mallets by each Garcia in turn to produce a heartbeat big enough to pump a church or a cavern and be felt in every listener's chest. Eerie flute harmonies, nettling percussion, pouring of water and many other osounds f breath and life floated in dynamic surges to tell abstract stories of a sacrifice in the pool of a dim cenote, or the ponderings of the Emperor Moctezuma in his black meditation room after receiving nightmare warnings of destruction. Even the 1531 appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe was commemorated. Alegria Garcia's renditions in Spanish and ancient Nahuatl of "La Llorona," the classic metaphor-laden ballad of a woman mourning her dead children, required no knowledge of either language to feel the heart-gripping fist of emotion, her dignity, tonal purity and occasional rasp serving as powerful tools. Leñero, often contributing precise percussion accompaniment or piano embellishments, brought out his bold tribute to the Aztecs' defense of the Spaniards' murderous 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan; the composition alternated between thoughtful lyricism and bravura flourishes -- each accented by Godinez, who could pull some intense accents out of that angelic harp when she wanted to. Godinez's gentle touch was also essential to Flower Songs' closer, "The Arc of Life," whose heartbeat and heartstrings condensed more experience into 10 minutes than many a symphony musters. Scorzo's scored violin parts provided frequent moments of distinct, patient beauty throughout. Thus do the dead live on. Mesoamerican instruments remain, and Garcia showed they can blend with European ones quite effectively. The history of the dead also remains in what is ironically still not called the 16th-century friars' "Aztec Codex" but "The Florentine Codex," because of where it was hidden for centuries. The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe, first intended as a colonizing wedge, has been remade into a saga of indigenous pride. And of course, there are the bloodlines -- renewed every day. * * * A presentation of the Resonance Collective. * * * PHOTOS BY FUZZY BAROQUE. RECORDINGS ON BANDCAMP RESONANCIA christophergarciamusicprojects.bandcamp.com/album/resonancia RESILIENCIA christophergarciamusicprojects.bandcamp.com/album/resiliencia 100% OF ALL DOWNLOADS GO TO INDIGENOUS ARTS ORGANIZATIONS 
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new music composed for
INDIGENOUS INSTRUMENTS AND WOODWIND QUINTET
QUINTETO LATINO
new music composed for
INDIGENOUS INSTRUMENTS AND WOODWIND QUINTET
QUINTETO LATINO
new music composed for
indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
and
pedal harp
GARCIA GODINEZ DUO
MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS
new music composed for
indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
and
pedal harp
GARCIA GODINEZ DUO
MUSIC BEYOND BORDERS
MEXICO ATEMPORAL
new music composed for
indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
and
pianoforte
new music composed for
indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
and
pianoforte
new compostions for indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
and classical guitar
performed by
MEXCLA MUSIC
with
composed by
Christopher Garcia and Jeronimo Rajchenberg
TARANATH
composed by C. Garcia
performed by
ANADIS MUSIC
Jie Ma - pipa
John L. Stephens - sitar
cg - tabla
EARLY MOURNING SHADOWS
composed by C. Garcia
performed by
CONTINUUM
MUSIC for
piano forte
electric bass
soprano saxophone
EL MONSTRO PERCUSSION
YET AGAIN
composed by C. Garcia
as performed by
Alex de Grassi
Michael Manring
cg - El Monstro Percussion
composed by C. Garcia
as performed by
Alex de Grassi
Michael Manring
cg - El Monstro Percussion
new compostions for indigenous instruments of Mexico/Mesoamerica
performed by
XOCHI CUICATL
with
Christopher Garcia and Alegria Garcia
Garcia has been invited to perform his compositions
in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe, Korea
by the following ensembles
ANADI MUSIC
music for sitar and percussion of India, breath instruments of India, bass flute, bass clarinet
http://anadismusic.weebly.com/
ANADI MUSIC ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ANADI-MUSIC/217503695021311?fref=ts
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ANCIENT GROOVES
music for instruments of Africa, Asia and the Americas
http://ancientgrooves.weebly.com/index.html
ANCIENT GROOVES ON FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/ANCIENTGROOVES
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CONTINUUM WEBSITE LINKS
music for keyboards, electric bass, saxophone
continuummusic.weebly.com/
CONTINUUM ON FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Continuum-Music-Group-Jazz-Rock-World-Fusion/115458121868742
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GARCIA GODINEZ DUO SITE
Music for indigenous instruments of Mexico and Western Harp
http://garciagodinez.weebly.com/
GARCIA GODINEZ DUO ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/Garcia-Godinez-Duo-1690860077800873/
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THE GRAND MOTHERS OF INVENTION
the MUSIC of FRANK ZAPPA
http://www.grandmothersofinvention.weebly.com/
GRAND MOTHERS OF INVENTION ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/GRANDMOTHERSOFINVENTION/
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LOST TRIBES PRODUCTIONS SITE
music for instruments of Meso America
http://losttribezproductionz.weebly.com/lost-tribes.html
LOST TRIBES PRODUCTIONS ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Losttribesproductions/330823677087686?ref=bookmarks
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MANRING GARCIA MUSIC SITE
manringgarciaduo.weebly.com/
music for acoustic guitar, fretless bass and hand and stick percussion of India and beyond
MANRING GARCIA MUSIC ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/ManringGarciaakamaniax?ref=hl
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MEXICO ATEMPORAL
https://mexicoatemporalmusic.weebly.com/
Music for pianoforte, electronics, indigenous breath, string and percussion instruments of Mexico /Mesoamerica
MEXCLA MUSIC SITE
Music for indigenous instruments of Mexico, classical guitar,
prepared guitar, charango, requinto jarocho and more
mexclamusic.weebly.com/
MEXCLA MUSIC ON FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/Mexcla-Music-749227918519839/?ref=br_rs
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QUETZALCOATL MUSIC
folkloric music of Mexico, Central and South America
http://quetzalcoatlmusic.weebly.com/
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QUARTETO NUEVO MUSIC
1999 THRU 2015
music for acoustic guitar, cello, woodwinds and percussion of India and Beyond
http://quartetonuevomusic.weebly.com
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RESONANCIA CHAMBER MUSIC MULTI MEDIA COLLABORATION
https://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/resonancia-multi-media.html
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TALES FROM THE SILK ROAD
music for shakuhachi, yokobue and perrcussion of India and Meso America
http://talesfromthesilkroad.weebly.com/
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XOCHI CUICATL/FLOWER SONGS MUSIC
https://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/flower-songs.html
