Born in Mexico City and currently based in Basel, composer and diverse keyboards player Mauricio Silva Orendain is currently composing for new experimental organs in Europe. His works emphasise the use of unconventional tuning systems to explore the bridge between microtonality and sound synthesis as a search for authentic and rich sound sculptures.
Composer, Arrangeur & Diverse Keyboards Player
Mauricio Silva Orendain is now continuously composing music for the Arciorgano (a microtonal organ from the 16th Century) in Basel and for the new organs at St. Martin's Church in Kassel, Germany which includes the “Experimentalorgel”. His composition "Settled Vagabond" was the first and only piece performed during the inauguration of this brand new unique instrument in May 2021.
In 2022 he was commissioned to compose for the Grosse Orgel at St. Martins Church in Kassel, Germany for the International Organ Festival 2022 "Brandneu", as well as by Les Arts Scéniques in Basel, Switzerland to compose the music for their new Theater Production “Neus Vom Tage”. As an extension of his research project A Bridge Between Composition & Sound Design he performed an ambisonics Sound Installation at Bscene Festival 2022 in Basel entitled Immersive Soundscapes.
In 2019 a a full scholarship brought him to Basel, Switzerland in order to study with Guillermo Klein at the Jazz Campus and with Caspar Johannes Walter at the Musik Akademie Basel. He finished his master studies in composition, performance and producing in 2021 and continued with a post-graduate "school of excellence" studies.
Like mentioned before, in 2021 he had the unique opportunity of coming in contact with a brand new instrument; the Experimentalorgel at St. Martins Church in Kassel, Germany. This happening triggered a new artistic concept in his music. Having the opportunity to work with such a flexible instrument for long periods of time opened his ears and mind to new compositional concepts giving birth to his current research project A Bridge Between Composition & Sound Design. This project explores not only the particular and specific sounds of the organs at St. Martins Church in Kassel, Germany but as well researches the extended techniques of mechanical organ stops and treats each single pipe as an individual instrument full of new possibilities including a vast amount of colourful overtones and multiphonics. This new approach to the organ opens up a new pallet of soundscapes for composing and improvising, and inevitably builds a bridge between music theory and sound synthesis.
He is as well participating in diverse projects and ensembles including Argentinian singer and composer Luciana Morelli who recently released her new album "Lo abismal, el agua" recorded by renowned sound-engineer Daniel Dettwiller.
Background:
Born in Mexico City in 1992, after inheriting his grandmother piano at age 10, his mother became his first piano instructor. Soon after he found piano and music were the path he wished to pursue in life and since then he has dedicated his whole life to music.
He started his education with various private teachers in Mexico City and at age 14 he joined the Music Academy Fermatta. Two years later he became the opportunity to study abroad at the Music Highschool Dreihackengasse in Graz, Austria where he would study for two years and obtain the Maturity Certificate with main emphasis in music. During his stay in Austria he was able to also study privately with the renowned Austrian pianist and arranger Michael Wasserfaller where he deepened in the concepts of performance, composition and arranging.
In 2010 he came back to Mexico and studied for three years at Lafaro Jazz Institute in Mexico City where he was able to learn from pioneer jazz musicians such as Agustín Bernal, Gabriel Puentes, Alex Mercado, Miguel Villicaña, Roberto Verastegui, Hector Rodriguez and many more.
In 2013 he traveled to New York, Boston and Texas in order to attend private lessons with Aaron Parks and Jean Michelle Pilc as well as to visit universities and to attend concerts and jams sessions. He received a scholarship to study at University Of North Texas where he first studied classical music with renowned pianist Joseph Banowetz. Later on he studied jazz piano with Sergio Pamies and after 4 semesters in 2016 he earned a scholarship to study abroad at Conservatori Liceu in Barcelona. The large and diverse music scene in this new city as well as the opportunity to study with great pianists such as Roger Mas, Toni Vaquer and Marco Mezquida persuaded him to stay in Barcelona where he finished the Grado Superior at the Conservatori Liceu.