Miami, Nov. 18, 2016 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Museum of Art + Design (MOA+D), home of the CINTAS Fellows Collection and the CINTAS Foundation, has named Odaline de la Martínez the 2016-17 CINTAS Foundation Brandon Fradd Award in Music Composition Fellow.
CINTAS Foundation President Hortensia Sampedro made the announcement at the annual CINTAS Awards Ceremony, recently held at MDC’s historic Freedom Tower.
“I am going to dedicate the final opera of the Slavery Trilogy to the CINTAS Foundation, of course, whose generosity is so welcome,” said Martinez . “That’s what makes a difference to all the artists.”
For the first time in the history of the fellowship, the winner will have her musical composition premiered by the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO), led by Maestro Eduardo Marturet, in memory of MISO founder, the late Maestro Manuel Ochoa, at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Martínez will write a piece for orchestra. The corresponding experience and exposure of such a prestigious performance represents a highly enriched award to the winner, estimated at $80,000.
Odaline de la Martínez pursues a demanding and successful career composing – particularly opera, conducting repertoire from Mozart symphonies to the latest contemporary music, and recording often with LORELT (Lontano Records) and numerous other labels. She was the first woman to conduct a BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in 1984 and has made several return visits since. Martínez has received numerous awards including a Marshall Scholarship from the British Government and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Imoinda, Part I of her Slavery Opera Trilogy was commissioned by the Caribbean Women Writers’ Alliance with funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund. An Opera Grant from Opera America in 2015 allowed her to make the video Selected Scenes from Imoinda. The Crossing Part II her Slavery Opera Trilogy was commissioned by Tulane University and premiered in New Orleans in April 2013, while there as composer in residence, and received its UK Premiere in November 2014 at the opening concert of The Fifth London Festival of American Music. Martinez is published by Composers Edition.
“Since 1963 the CINTAS Foundation has supported Cuban arts outside Cuba. Over 300 CINTAS Fellows have contributed nationally and internationally to the humanities,” said Hortensia Sampedro, president of CINTAS Foundation. “CINTAS Fellows are found represented in all major museums, and important private and corporate collections, as well as recipients of Pulitzer, Guggenheim, NEA, Obie Awards, exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Rockefeller and Fulbright Residencies, Latin Grammy nominations and many, many more too numerous to list.”
Past CINTAS Music Composition Fellows include Yalil Guerra, Fabian Almazan, Sergio Barroso, Armando Bayolo, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo, Ailem Carvajal, Aldo Rafael Forte, Orlando Jacinto García, Julián Orbon, and Tania León.
About the CINTAS Fellowship Program
The CINTAS Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts. The Foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. In June 2011, the CINTAS Foundation entered into an extended loan to MDC’s Museum of Art + Design of the CINTAS Fellows Collection. It is comprised of nearly 300 pieces by artists of Cuban descent living outside Cuba who have received prestigious CINTAS Fellowships, awarded since 1963. www.cintasfoundation.org
About MDC Museum of Art and Design
MDC Museum of Art and Design is dedicated to the presentation of visual art and design exhibitions. Housed at the National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami, its mission is to promote the appreciation and understanding of art through direct engagement with original works.
Facebook: @mdcmoad
Twitter: @mdcmoad
Instagram: @mdcmoad
#MDCMOAD
For more information about the CINTAS program at MDC Museum of Art + Design, please contact Laurie Escobar, CINTAS Administrator, 305-237-7901, lescobar@mdc.edu.
MDC’s Museum of Art + Design media contact: Carolina Salazar, 305-237-7710, csalaza4@mdc.edu