- horcasit@uwm.edu
- He / Him
Directory Categories
Juan Pablo Horcasitas
- Assistant Adjunct Professor, Piano
Education
- MA, Classical Piano Performance, Manhattan School of Music
- BA, Classical Piano Performance, Manhattan School of Music
Biography
Mexican-American pianist Juan Pablo Horcasitas is recognized for his expressive musicianship, singing tone, and engaging stage presence. Since making his solo debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2009, he has established an international career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, conductor, and educator, performing throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
A First Prize winner at the Manuel de Falla Piano Competition in Mexico City, Mr. Horcasitas has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Singapore, the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata de Coahuila, Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Orquesta Filarmónica de Querétaro, Orquesta del Desierto, Orquesta de Baja California, the Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Guatemala. His performances have been featured at major international festivals in Finland, Algeria, Chicago, New York, and Mexico, and recent recital appearances have taken him to Belgium, Dubai, Chicago, and Milwaukee.
An accomplished chamber musician and collaborative artist, Mr. Horcasitas has performed with distinguished instrumentalists and vocalists across the United States and Latin America. His artistic interests extend to conducting and opera, having served as Music Director of Opera Hispánica in New York and conducted the New York premiere of Héctor Armienta's La Llorona.He was recently invited as a guest pianist with the Philomusica String Quartet in its 17th season at the Wisconsin Lutheran College.
A passionate advocate for American and Latin American concert music, Mr. Horcasitas regularly performs works by composers including Samuel Zyman, Carlos Chávez, Manuel M. Ponce, José Pablo Moncayo, Juan Pablo Contreras, and Leonardo Coral. His project Carlos Chávez: Early Piano Pieces earned Mexico's National Award for Culture and the Arts Scholarship, and in 2015 he received the Excellence in Classical Music Award at the Mexican Music Awards in New York for his promotion of Mexican concert music.
Equally dedicated to teaching, Mr. Horcasitas has held faculty positions at the Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School for the visually impaired in New York, where he taught for twelve years, and the Diller-Quaile School of Music. He currently serves as Assistant Adjunct Professor of Piano at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is a member of the piano faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Mr. Horcasitas holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Nina Svetlanova, and also pursued conducting studies with David Jackson of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. His discography includes the acclaimed album Prelude (2021), Among Songs and Dances (2014), and he continues to perform internationally while championing a diverse repertoire that bridges cultures and musical traditions.