José A. Guerrero

How Water Sounds

The Artist

I began my piano studies in Tijuana, continued with my bachelor’s degree in Mexico City, and after a brief stay in Mérida, Yucatán, I returned to my hometown.  I’ve been working as a pianist for over 17 years, teaching piano, music theory, and harmony—both individually and in groups—to students of all ages. I often accompany instrumentalists, choirs, singers, orchestras, rock bands, regional music groups, ballet and contemporary dance classes, and improvisational theater, among others. I have performed solo piano recitals in both the classical and popular genres, and I improvise on classic boleros, jazz standards, and music of any style. I currently teach private lessons where the main focus is improvisation based on the classical repertoire. In my professional work, I continue to develop my own style of improvisation. I have composed two pieces: one for dance and ensemble, and another for violin and piano.

José A. Guerrero

The Project

My project, “What Does Water Sound Like?”, proposes a twofold collaborative innovation: first, to extract “improvisational structures” from the Impressionist and Romantic repertoire (Ravel, Debussy, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninoff) to create improvisations that maintain an audible connection to the original works; second, to translate those structures into a physical language in collaboration with a contemporary dancer from Tijuana, where each physical gesture (swaying of the arms, rocking of the torso, rhythmic contractions) corresponds to a musical element that evokes water.

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