Christian Quiñones (b.1996) is a Puerto Rican composer whose music explores concepts like cultural identity, and the intersection between vernacular music, electronic textures, rock, and Latin music. For 2020 he was selected for the Earshot Underwood Orchestra Readings with the American Composers Orchestra and as a fellow for the 2021 Bang on a Can Summer Festival where he was the recipient of the Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting commission. Christian is thrilled to be a recipient of the 2021 Icarus Quartet IQ TESTS Commission, the 2020 Brooklyn Arts Council Inaugural Commission with Chromic Duo, and the winner of the 2020 Bergamot String Quartet Commission project.
His music has been performed and/or commissioned by members of Dal Niente, Loadbang, Hub New Music, Onix Ensemble, Illinois Modern Ensemble (IME), Unheard-of Ensemble, Trio Sanromá, Victory Players, American Composers Orchestra, Cuban virtuoso René Izquierdo, Boston New Music Initiative Ensemble, Orquesta del Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, and emerging talents such as Daniela Santos Colón. He has also been a fellow in festivals and residencies such as the Rednote Music Festival, DePaul University Summer Residency, CCI Initiative, Connecticut Summerfest, Longy Divergent Studio, and The Zodiac Festival in France where Christian was awarded the Distinguished Composer award.
From 2018 to 2019 he was a composer in residence in Mt. Holyoke MIFA Festival where he was commissioned by the Victory Players and worked on outreach programs. His music has been described as “…rhythmic, with subtle touches … colorful and imaginative” (El Nuevo Día, L. Juliá). Apart from his work as a composer, Christian has done research on the commissions of “Ballets de San Juan” to Puerto Rican composers, and an analysis on the sustainability of independent music in Puerto Rico during an economic crisis published by Musiké.
He obtained his BM in Music Composition at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, studying composition and orchestration with Alfonso Fuentes and in 2019 Christian was a recipient of the Graduate College Master’s Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with composer Carlos Carrillo and Reynold Tharp. Next fall, Christian will begin his Ph.D. as a President’s fellow at Princeton University.