“An incredible database”
— Paul Katz; New England Conservatory and CelloBello founder and Artistic Director
“It broadens your mind... with the vast amount of information”
— Santiago Cañón-Valencia; International Soloist
“A very important part of our learning process for all cellists in Latin America”
— Álvaro Bitrán; Cuarteto Latinoamericano

Horacio is a recognized expert in Latin American repertoire for cello. He is the founder and artistic director of Strings of Latin America (SOLA), an organization with the mission of researching and promoting Latin American classical music for stringed instruments. Within SOLA’s initiatives, Horacio has coauthored The Sphinx Catalogs of Latin-American Cello Works and Viola Works, two free databases containing information about works for cello and viola by Latin American composers. These are the largest databases of their kind and are available online on SOLA’s website, and also thanks to the generous support of the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello. Click here to access the cello database through Sphinx, here to access the cello database through CelloBello, and here to access the viola database through Sphinx.

Within the scope of SOLA’s activities, Horacio has launched an internship program to collaborate with the new generation of string players and researchers. The program has the aim of immersing young performers and scholars into the experience of researching and promoting underrepresented composers and works from Latin America. Learn more about the internships here.

Another one of Horacio’s most recent projects is The Voices of Latin American Cello. It is a series of educative videos where people can learn about all things related to Latin American cellists and cello works from the voice of the protagonists.

He is also the author of pedagogic materials, and his cello adaptation of the celebrated Exercises in Various Combinations of Double-Stops by Dr. Roland Vamos was published by Carl Fischer.

In addition, he is the author of scholarly articles and presentations. He has been invited to present papers and lectures at conferences, festivals, universities and conservatories throughout the Americas and Europe.. His works have obtained honorific mentions and have been published in scholarly journals. Horacio has received research grants from the University of Michigan and the Program of Stimulus for Research of the Venezuelan Department of Technology and Innovation.

 
Featured
Latin American Cello Repertoire: Teaching and Performing Music by Latin American Composers
Latin American Cello Repertoire: Teaching and Performing Music by Latin American Composers

CelloBello’s Teacher Training Seminar presentation about how to use Latin American music as a tool for teachers and performers.

Ricardo Castro Cello Concerto on CelloBello's Celloblog
Ricardo Castro Cello Concerto on CelloBello's Celloblog

The series of three bilingual posts provides context about the history, the style, sources and editions, and the pedagogical value of the first cello concerto written in Latin America

Ricardo Castro Cello Concerto edition
Ricardo Castro Cello Concerto edition

Ricardo Castro’s concerto is the first concerto for cello written in Latin America. It is written in a romantic style. The edition includes a piano reduction available for purchase here.

SOLA's composer directory
SOLA's composer directory

The resource is developed by the team of Strings of Latin America in partnership with the Sphinx Organization towards the mission of providing visibility to Latin American classical music. The directory contains biographic information and lists of works by Latin American composers.

The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Viola Works
The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Viola Works

With more than 820 entries on the date of its release, The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Viola Works is the most comprehensive database that contains information about works written by composers from Latin America, where the viola has a prominent role. It was created in partnership with the Sphinx Organization and Dr. Jesús Alfonzo. The catalog is free and available online through the sponsoring websites of the Sphinx Organization and Strings of Latin America.

The Voices of Latin American Cello
The Voices of Latin American Cello

The Voices of Latin American Cello is an educative audio-visual series featuring the protagonists of the cello-related classical music scene in Latin America. The series is hosted by the YouTube channel of The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works.

El Repertorio Latinoamericano para Cello: interpretando y enseñando las obras de compositores Latinoamericanos
El Repertorio Latinoamericano para Cello: interpretando y enseñando las obras de compositores Latinoamericanos

Webinar patrocinado por la Universidad Nacional de Música de Perú acerca de cómo usar el Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works como herramienta para intérpretes y profesores.

The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works
The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American Cello Works

With more than 2200 entries on the date of its release, The Sphinx Catalog of Latin-American cello Works is the most comprehensive database that contains information about works written by composers from Latin America, where the cello has a prominent role. It was created in partnership with the Sphinx Organization and Dr. German Marcano.

My journey with Latin American cello
My journey with Latin American cello

Informative presentation about Latin American cello music given at the National Convention of the American String Teachers Association.

Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops Roland Vamos & Horacio Contreras
Exercises for the Cello in Various Combinations of Double-Stops Roland Vamos & Horacio Contreras

This collection of double-stop exercises fill a void in the literature of technical exercises for cellists.

Los sones de Tura: Música, memoria e identidad en el ritual de las Turas de San Pedro de Mapararí, estado Falcón
Los sones de Tura: Música, memoria e identidad en el ritual de las Turas de San Pedro de Mapararí, estado Falcón

Study about a Venezuelan musical ritual of indigenous origin that bears the name of El Baile de las Turas.. Published on the Anthropology journal Boletín Antropológico. Año 34, N 91, Enero-Junio, 2016. pp. 53-74. You can find the article here.

Remodelando Textos
Remodelando Textos

Interpretación y Werktreue en las Ediciones del Siglo XIX de las Suites para Violoncello de J. S. Bach. Paper presented at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia about the different editorial approaches in early editions of Bach’s cello suites.

Los sones de Tura
Los sones de Tura

Música, memoria e identidad en el ritual de las Turas de San Pedro de Mapararí, Estado Falcón: Study about a Venezuelan musical ritual of indigenous origin that bears the name of El Baile de las Turas. Paper presented with Natali Herrera at the Third National Anthropology Conference of Venezuela.

Sonidos de la Selva
Sonidos de la Selva

A study about the use of fieldwork as a tool for musical interpretation, centered around the work Jaguar Songs by Paul Desenne. Published in the musicology journal musicaenclave. Spanish version available here.