Jose Solórzano, pianist, was born in Agua Prieta, Sonora. At the age of
ten, he began taking piano lessons at the Viola Academy of Music where his
first teacher was Eduardo Corella. Corella’s studio was comprised of well over
twenty students at the time, and in this company, Jose was able to participate
in group recitals early on, and then as he advanced, was able to perform more
ambitious piano solo programs. When he turned seventeen, he moved to
Hermosillo, Sonora, in order to continue his piano studies with Emiliana
Zubeldia at the University of Sonora. At the age of twenty-one, he moved again,
this time to Tucson, Arizona, to continue his studies with Nicholas Zumbro at
the University of Arizona. It was here that he obtained his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in piano performance.
Jose has participated in and
won several piano competitions. National-level participations include the
Angélica Morales Piano Competition in Mexico City and the Joanna Hodges Piano
Competition in Palm Desert, California. He was awarded First Prize at the
Jennings Butterfield Young Artist Competition in Phoenix in 1988 and was chosen
to perform with the University Symphony Orchestra through the President’s
Concert Competition at the University of Arizona in 1989. He has received
several scholarships, including the Green Valley Chamber Music Society
Scholarship and the Emilio Osta Scholarship.
Jose has performed with the Sun
City Symphony Orchestra at the Phoenix Sun City West Sundome, with the
University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra at Centennial Hall, with the Catalina
Chamber Orchestra at the Hermosillo Civic Auditorium, and with the Civic
Orchestra of Tucson both in Tucson and Agua Prieta. For several years, he has
been the principal pianist with the Civic Orchestra of Tucson, where he also
serves on the orchestra’s executive board.
Jose has performed numerous
times as a soloist and as part of chamber groups. Recent programs include
recitals at the Oro Valley United Church of Christ with the brass group Trio
Capriccio. A recital focusing on diseases of composers was performed at the
Arizona Health Sciences Library (AHSL) in conjunction with the exhibit
"Diseases of Famous Composers … Or Why They Are Now Decomposing.” This exhibit
was part of a series of three exhibits, which also included "Musicians’ Medical
Maladies” and "The Healing Power of Music.” These AHSL exhibits and recitals
were done in collaboration with Ms. Cathy Wolfson, Soprano and AHSL Health
Sciences Librarian.
Since 1992, Jose has worked
both at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, currently as a systems
administrator, and at the Oro Valley United Church of Christ, currently as the
music ministry director.
Jose’s current endeavor is
participating in the effort to build a fine arts center, Casa de la Cultura, in
Agua Prieta, Sonora. His efforts in this project earned him the Emiliana
Zubeldia Medal in 2008, a newly instituted award in memory of his former
teacher who founded the University of Sonora Music Academy and taught numerous
generations from 1947 until her death in 1986.