Since its inception, SA'OAXACA has sought to promote the study and performance of string chamber music by Mexican and Latin American composers. In past editions, we have had the joy of conducting music workshops that have explored our Latin roots, as well as the pleasure of premiering string quartet music written by Oaxacan composers. In our 2026 edition, we wish to continue the initiative of studying and promoting Mexican string music through a call-for-scores for Mexican composers. We invite you to share your pieces so that we may continue celebrating the great talent and trajectory of Mexican string composition.
Jotaro Nakano, Orchestra Conductor
Conductor Jotaro Nakano, of Japanese-American heritage, is a native of Southern California and earned his Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Kenneth Keisler. Previously, Jotaro served as Director of the Ann Arbor Camerata, Assistant Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, and Conducting Fellow with the Long Beach Symphony. He has conducted at numerous festivals, including the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Eastern Music Festival, and the Prague Summer Nights Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle of the Berlin Philharmonic, Gerard Schwarz of the Seattle Symphony, and Ovidiu Balan of the Mihail Jora Philharmonic. Jotaro has conducted orchestras in the Czech Republic, Romania, Maine, California, Michigan, and North Carolina. In 2021, Jotaro began his doctoral studies in conducting at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, studying with Marin Alsop. In 2023 he won the position as director of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra.
Erick Tapia, Mexican Composer
Originally from Mexico City, Erick Tapia studied composition at the UNAM Faculty of Music with Gabriela Ortiz and Francisco Cortés-Álvarez. In 2019, he received the Arturo Márquez Extraordinary Chair scholarship at UNAM, an opportunity to study with the renowned Mexican composer for a year. In 2020, he was selected for the FONCA Young Creators program and won first place in the #EstarMejor National Composition Competition for Symphony Orchestra at the Universidad Panamericana. Subsequently, he became a Concertia Emerging Composers Fellow (Houston, 2021-2022) and won third place in the Raíces orchestral competition organized by the Jalisco Ministry of Culture and the Jalisco Philharmonic. In 2021, he was the first Mexican composer invited by the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing to compose a work for the International Forum of the Alliance for Music Education (CCOM). His music has been performed in Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Colombia, China, and Finland by soloists and ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra, the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Eduardo Mata Youth Orchestra of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). In 2024, he won the Arturo Márquez Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition (SACM-INBAL) and was again selected for the FONCA Young Creators grant, solidifying his position as one of the most prominent emerging voices in contemporary Mexican composition.
Gwendolyn Matias-Ryan, Director and Violist
Gwendolyn is a Mexican-American violist who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in viola performance from Baylor University, a Specialist Degree in viola performance from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in Musical Arts from Texas Tech University in May 2024. She is also the founder and artistic director of SA'OAXACA, the Oaxaca International String Music Festival. She was principal violist of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra from 2023 to 2025 and of the Oaxaca Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2016. She has performed at prestigious chamber music festivals, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival and Center Stage Strings. She was invited to participate in the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy, in the summer of 2018, and won the Mid-Texas Symphony Orchestra Concert Competition in 2013 and the Texas Tech School of Music Concert Competition in November 2021. As a chamber musician, Gwendolyn has been a guest artist with the Rutenberg Chamber Music Series (Tampa, Florida), a recurring member of the Iris Collective (Germantown, Tennessee), and was invited to be principal violist for two performances of Chamber Music Amarillo in the spring of 2025. She resides in South Portland, Maine, where she recently accepted the position of Education Director for Palaver Strings in May 2025.