José Luis de la Paz

guitar

José Luis de la Paz (b. 1967) is an award-winning guitarist, recognized in all three disciplines of the Flamenco art. He is a composer, virtuoso, and performer whose original compositions range from the most traditional to the most experimental forms in Flamenco music. Following the oral traditions of the form, he became the prized pupil of the legendary Mario Escudero at the age of 15.

De la Paz was the musical director and composer for Ballet Cristina Hoyos for ten years, accompanying numerous famous Flamenco singers and dancers such as Jose Mercé, Arcángel, Argentina, Manolo Marin, Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Concha Buika, and Belen Maya, among others.

In 1995, de la Paz appeared in Felix Grande’s book Agenda Flamenca as one of the best guitarists in Spain.

In 2015, de la Paz collaborated with the LA Philharmonic and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, under the artistic direction of Siudy Garrido Company, in El Amor Brujo. That November, he debuted his first symphonic work, Suite for Flamenco Guitar and Orchestra, in collaboration with Alex Conde (arrangements) and Berto Boyd (guitar transcriptions).

De la Paz premiered the Concierto de Aranjuez with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra in November, 2017, and toured with the Florida Symphony Orchestra and Siudy Garrido in El Amor Brujo.

In 2018, de la Paz premiered Toda Ciencia Trascendiendo, a concert in which he wrote music for poems written by Spanish mystics like San Juan de la Cruz, Teresa de Jesús, and Juan Ramón Jiménez. This concert, commissioned by Centro Cultural Español-Miami and Miami Dade Cultural Affairs, was part of an exhibition under the same title by Raimundo Travieso. In May of 2018, he presented his concert at the Fiestas de San Isidro in Madrid.

De la Paz is co-founder with Niurca Marquez (choreographer/dancer) of Nu Flamenco Collaborative, an organization that aims to introduce US audiences to the cultural heritage of flamenco and its emerging artistic expressions. He was nominated for a US Artist Fellowship in 2016-17.