Francisco Cortés Álvarez

Winner of awards such as the Morton Gould Composition Award (ASCAP) and the Jacob Druckman Orchestral Composition Award, Francisco Cortés Álvarez (Mexico 1983) has developed a diverse musical career as a composer, arranger, music producer, and educator.

His music has been performed in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, including presentations at the Aspen Music Festival and School, SEAMUS, Mizzou New Music Festival (USA), Music X (Switzerland), and thirteen editions of the Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez (Mexico).

Francisco has collaborated with renowned soloists, ensembles, and orchestras such as the LA Phil conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, OFUNAM, the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, the Aspen Sinfonia Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, the IU New Music Ensemble, Orchestra 2001, the Cassatt String Quartet, Volti Chamber Singers, and Túumben Paax, among others. He has been a recipient of Tania León’s Honor Scholarship (ASCAP), a multiple-time fellow of the Study Abroad and Young Creators (Jóvenes Creadores) programs (FONCA), and a member of the Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA).

Francisco has credits as a co-producer, editor, or composer on 11 recording productions with Naxos, Urtext, Tempus Clásico, IU Music, and Acqua Records, among others.

Francisco completed his Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at the Faculty of Music of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he was awarded the Gabino Barreda medal, and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Music at Indiana University (IU), where he received the Dean’s Prize. He was an associate instructor and director of the Latin American Music Ensemble at IU. Currently, he is a professor and founder of the music composition program at the School of Fine Arts of the Universidad Panamericana, and a professor of analysis and composition at the Faculty of Music of UNAM.