Orlando Cotto
Adjunct Instructor, Percussion
University of Delaware
Amy E. du Pont Music Building
Newark, DE 19716
Biography
As a student, Orlando Cotto had the dual distinction of being the
first marimbist to receive the Artist Diploma from the Peabody
Institute and to win the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition. He was also
recognized as the most outstanding student while studying at the
Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. Mr. Cotto was raised in the
traditions of Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican music, and he learned to play
hand drums when he was just five years old. He has developed a
successful career as a marimbist and percussionist and is an instructor
in percussion for the Department of Music.
As a solo marimbist,
Mr. Cotto unites his solid classical training and Latin American
background to create a powerful combination of rhythm and music
previously uncharted in the marimba world. He regularly performs at
international festivals, including the Percussive Arts Society
International Convention, and conducts workshops and master classes in
colleges and universities throughout the United States. He has also been
invited to perform in Asia, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Central
America. According to the San Juan Star, Mr. Cotto is "an artist of musical sensitivity and accomplished technique."
A
sought-after performing and recording artist, Mr. Cotto has
collaborated with music legends of this generation, including Darin
Atwater, Andy Gonzalez, Giovanni Hidalgo and Edwin Colón Zayas. Latin Beat magazine
calls Mr. Cotto’s “solid conga drumming . . . a percussive pillar.” He
has been the conguero of Panoramic, a fusion band lead by pan virtuoso
Liam Teague, and was the lead conguero of Rumba Club, one of the East
Coast's popular Latin jazz ensembles. These collaborations have led to
performances at major venues in the United States including the
Telluride Jazz Celebration in Colorado; the Blue Room in Kansas City;
Blue Note and Birdland in New York City; and Blues Ally and the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C.
His first solo marimba recording Caribeños – Latin American Music for the Marimba received critical and popular acclaim. Percussive Notes praised it: “The immediacy and vitality of the music on [Caribeños] impresses the listener from the very first selection.” His subsequent recording, A Little Prayer, paid tribute to his classical training, and Wild Hands demonstrated an amalgamation of his creativity, classical training and Latin roots. Mr. Cotto’s newest CD, Landmark — Afro-Cuban Music for the Marimba,
was released in the spring of 2010 and features artist Michael Spiro.
Mr. Cotto is a performing artist endorsed by Yamaha, ProMark, Sabian and
Latin Percussion.
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