Orlando Jacinto García, DMA, is Distinguished University Professor in the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts at Florida International University as well as the area coordinator for the FIU Music Composition Program.
Through more than 200 works composed for a wide range of performance genres, including interdisciplinary, site specific, and works with and without electronics for orchestra, choir, soloists, and a variety of chamber ensembles, Orlando Jacinto García has established himself as an important figure in the new music world. The distinctive character of his music has often been described as "time suspended—haunting sonic explorations," qualities he developed from his studies with Morton Feldman, among others.
Born in Havana, Cuba, Professor García migrated to the United States in 1961. He earned a Doctor in Music Arts (DMA) and a Master of Music (MM) in theory and composition from the University of Miami, and a B.A. in philosophy and Spanish literature from the Frostburg State University.
In demand as a guest composer, he is the recipient of numerous honors and awards various organizations and cultural institutions, including the Rockefeller, Fulbright, Knight, Dutka, Civitella Ranieri, Bogliasco, and Cintas Foundations, the State of Florida, the MacDowell and Millay Colony, and the Ariel, Noise International, Matiz Rangel, Nuevas Resonancias, Salvatore Martirano, and Bloch International Competitions. He has been the recipient of five Latin Grammy nominations in the best Contemporary Classical Composition Category (2009–11, 2015, and 2021). With performances around the world at important venues by distinguished performers, his works are recorded on New Albion, O.O. Discs, CRI, New World, Albany, North/South, CRS, Rugginenti, VDM, Capstone, Innova, CNMAS, Opus One, Telos, and Toccata Classics.
Dr. García is the founder and director of the NODUS Ensemble, the Miami Chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music, the New Music Miami ISCM Festival, and is a resident composer for the Miami Symphony Orchestra. A dedicated educator, he is professor of composition and Composer in Residence for the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts at FIU.
Dr. García has presented and recorded numerous works by Cuban composers residing in Cuba and abroad as part of the above-mentioned FIU New Music Miami ISCM Festival and the NODUS Ensemble, as well as with his work on the Cintas Foundation board. The inclusion of many of these works is a result of his participation in various festivals, conferences, and other related events held around the world, as well as his research on the classical music created in Cuba beginning with the Spanish colonization and ending with today's composers.