...[Gonzalo Cortés] is a virtuoso on his instrument...
~Registro New Haven Connecticut
Gonzalo Cortés - an artist with a diverse and creative playing style
Recently Mr. Cortés performed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC along with the Choral Arts Society of Washington in a brilliant performance which received a standing ovation from the audience. As a soloist, an orchestral musician, and a chamber musician with a diversity of styles, Mr. Cortés is always engaging in new challenges.
Gonzalo Cortés , a native of Chile, began studying flute at the age of 12 in the La Serena School of Music. He studied with Alberto Harms at the Catholic University of Chile, graduating in 1993. During his studies there, he won the Principal Flute position with the Classical Orchestra of Santiago, which he held for 8 years. He then came to the United States and earned an Artist Diploma from Duquesne University with Robert Langevin, Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic, as his teacher. He has also participated in Masterclasses with world famous flutists Jeanne Baxtresser, James Galway and Alain Marion.
As a soloist, he performed the USA premiere of the triple concerto Danzas Peregrinas by the Chilean composer Horacio Salinas with the Symphony of Southeast Texas under the conduction of Christopher Zimmerman. He has also toured South America with the Classical Orchestra of Santiago, the Chamber Orchestra of Chile, and the Chamber Orchestra of the Catholic University of Chile. Mr. Cortés has performed at numerous festivals in both the United States and South America such as the 2007 Music Festival in Orford, Quebec, Canada, the Primer Festival International de Flauta in Rio de Janeiro, Semanas Musicales de Frutillar, Chile, the Western Slope Music Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado and an homage to Andres Bello in the Tereza Carreño Theater with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela.
In addition to Mr. Cortés' classical training pursuit, he is a proponent of South American folklore music. He performs regularly as a soloist on siku and quena and with Alturas Duo who together recorded Misa Criolla by the Argentinean composer Ariel Ramirez with the Choral Arts Society of Washington for the Naxos Label. He also has recorded with the internationally acclaimed Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani and a Spanish version of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the National Youth Symphony of Chile as well as for national television broadcasts in Colombia. Mr. Cortés has collaborated with the Church Street Singers of Hartford and with the renowned guitarist Daniel Salazar in the extraordinary event Guitar under the Stars in Hartford, Connecticut.
Mr. Cortés lives in the Hartford area with his wife Jessica and two children Katie and Max.
Biography
