Ricardo Lorenz

Ricardo Lorenz is a Venezuelan composer and academic.

Life and career

Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Lorenz earned degrees from both the Conservatory of Music Juan Manuel Olivares and the Juan Manuel Olivares National School of Music in Caracas, Venezuela. He then pursued graduate studies in music composition under Juan Orrego-Salas and Donald Erb at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music where he graduated with a Master of Music degree in 1986. He joined the faculty of the Jacobs School where he served as the director of the Latin American Music Center from 1987-1992. In 1995 he compiled and published the sourcebook Scores and Recordings at Indiana University's Latin American Music Center
In 1992 Lorenz left the Jacobs school to pursue doctoral studies in music composition at the University of Chicago where he was a pupil of John Eaton and Shulamit Ran. After completing his PhD, he was a composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Billings Symphony Orchestra. His works have been performed by symphony orchestras internationally.
In 2020 he was nominated for the Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards for his composition "Pataruco".

Sinfonietta Concertante, for wind quintet and string orchestra; dedicated to Heitor Villa-Lobos
Mar Acá, voor dwarsfluit, chamber orchestra and idiophones
Piano concerto
Violin concerto
Confabulaciones del Alma, three symphonic études
Concerto for Orchestra
Entrada triunfal del Rey Magoberry
Concerto for recorder and orchestra
Pataruco for Venezuelan maracas and orchestra
Konex-Konex, for folk ensemble and orchestra
En Tren Vá Changó
Fantasía, for piano and orchestra
Rumba Sinfónica, for Latin-American band and orchestra
Canciones de Jara, concerto for viola and orchestra
''Habanera Science''