Christian Quiñones is a Puerto Rican composer who explores personal, vulnerable narratives in the digital age. From sampling to auto-tune, and to interactive multimedia, Christian uses sounds, images, and references to internet culture to ultimately tell human stories.
His music has been performed by leading ensembles such as Alarm Will Sound, Jack Quartet, the New York Youth Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire, American Composer Orchestra, Yarn-Wire, TAK Ensemble, the icarus Quartet, the Bergamot String Quartet, Hub New Music, and Dal Niente. His music has been performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, and the LA Walt Disney Music Hall.
Recently, Christian was selected as a fellow for the Aspen Music Festival, MATA Festival, and as a composer in residence at the Copland House. Other fellowships include Cabrillo Festival, the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, Earshot Underwood Orchestra Readings, and the Eight Blackbird Creative Lab.
Upcoming projects include a song cycle for a virtual singer (Vocaloid) and chamber ensemble with the Unheard-of Ensemble, a satirical violin sonata for Nathan Meltzer, a series of pieces for sampling pads (SPD) with Evan Chapman, and a music-theatre piece about corporate self-help with his duo Pixeltongue.
He obtained his BM in Music Composition from the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, studying composition and orchestration with Alfonso Fuentes, and in 2019, Christian received the Graduate College Master’s Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Carlos Carrillo and Reynold Tharp. Currently, Christian is a Ph.D. President’s fellow at Princeton University, where he studies with Steve Mackey, Donnacha Dennehy, Nathalie Joachim, Juri Seo, and Tyondai Braxton.
