Photography by Matt Sinclair
Bio
Venezuelan violist, conductor & pedagogue Aleksandre Roderick-Lorenz hails from Caracas where their musical foundation began under the auspices of the famed "El Sistema" organisation. A versatile musician, Mx. Roderick-Lorenz enjoys a dynamic career as soloist, chamber musician and teacher. They perform a wide range of musical genres such as classical, Latin, mariachi, pop and contemporary music. In New England, they appear regularly with the Lowell Chamber Orchestra and Portsmouth Symphony. They also serve as principal violist of the Lyrica Boston Citizen’s Artist Orchestra and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Summer Philharmonic.
As a chamber musician, they have collaborated with Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Natalie Cole, Franco de Vita, Il Volo and have been featured as a recitalist in Latin America, Europe, Canada and the U.S. Also an avid soloist, they have made appearances with orchestras from New World School of the Arts (1st Prize, Concerto Laureate 2012), the International School of Music, Florida International University, Miami Dade College Film Scoring Orchestra and Wind Symphony (1st Prize, Concerto Laureate 2015), the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra (1st Prize, Concerto Laureate 2019) and most recently with the Lyrica Boston Citizen’s Artist Orchestra. Their eclectic career has encompassed performances at the Latin Grammy, Billboard Music Awards, Premios Juventud, Miami Life Awards, Lo Nuestro Awards and numerous televised appearances for Venevisión, América TeVé, Dracut TV, Ávila TV, Mega TV, Telemundo and Univision. In 2024, Roderick-Lorenz received the 1st Prize in the conducting and concerto divisions of the Vivaldi International Competition and was also awarded the Best Vivaldi Interpretation Award. This prize is only presented to performers who deliver the most exceptional and captivating rendition of a Vivaldi composition, recognising both technical prowess and artistic interpretation, as the recipient demonstrated a deep understanding and emotional connection to Vivaldi’s music.
Other prominent artistic collaborations include luminaries such as Plácido Domingo, Ruben Studdard, Celtic Woman, Johnny Mathis, Paloma San Basilio, Oscar D'Leon, Marco Antonio Solís, Peter Schickele and the Electric Light Orchestra. They have also recorded for a plethora of artists such as Olga Tañón & Andrián di Monti; Their interpretations have appeared in participating movies at the Cannes Film Festival and Berklee College of Music. They have been a frequent guest artist at the Dvorak American Heritage Association (DAHA) in New York City since 2017.
Recent highlights include an appearance as soloist and conductor with the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra, as well as a national radio debut at WQXR’s McGraw Hill Financial Young Artist Showcase with Robert Sherman. In the fall of 2020, Aleksandre was featured as an emerging artist on a locally televised interview with Dracut Television in Massachusetts.
Mx. Roderick-Lorenz has played under the baton of many well-known conductors such as James Judd, Eugene Kohn, Eduardo Marturet, Alondra de la Parra, Grzegorz Nowak, Nir Kabaretii, Andrew Bisantz, Maximiano Valdés, Mélisse Brunet, Octavio Más-Arocas, Yaniv Segal, Elinor Rufeizen, Michael Roest, Robert Moody and Carlos Riazuelo.
A sought-after pedagogue, they have served on the faculties of Miami's ViolaFest of New World School of the Arts, Chamber Music Intensive at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Miami Youth Orchestra, Honors Music Festival from Miami Dade College and ArtsAhimsa Music Festival in the Berkshires. In New England, they joined the faculties of the Wayland School of Music, Dana Hall School of Music and the Community Music Center of Boston. During their 3-year residence in New York, they worked as Viola Teaching Assistant at the Setnor School of Music. They also served as Musical Director of La Casita Cultural Center at Syracuse University, where they received the certificate of Teaching Excellence. Some of their students have been accepted into highly prestigious programmes such as: The Heifetz Institute Summer Program, Philadelphia International Music Festival, All-State, Federation, All-County, Noble and Greenough School, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Rivers Youth Orchestras, National Youth Orchestra of the USA, Castleman Quartet Program, Killington Music Festival, National Take a Stand Festival, ViolaFest, LyricaFest and specialised schools like the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, New World School of the Arts, Coral Reef High School, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Gulliver Schools, The Fenn School, Dana Hall, Ransom Everglades and Doral Academy Preparatory School. They currently have students pursuing degrees in music at major institutions such as Krongberg Academy, Manhattan School of Music, University of Miami, Miami Dade College, San Francisco & New England conservatories, as well as in universities such as Florida International, Ball State, Northwestern, Cornell and Columbia. Their former student Edward Luengo has won 3rd Prize at the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition and 1st Prize at the Buchet International Cello Competition. Two other former distinguished student features include Angelina Green, Golden Buzzer at America’s Got Talent 17’ and Santiago Tobar Potes, the first Hispanic student to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. In 2023, Aleksandre was appointed Upper School Orchestra Director at the North Broward Preparatory School in Florida. Mx. Roderick-Lorenz also serves as visiting professor of Violin and Viola at Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 2024.
They have received guidance from some of the most prominent violists and pedagogues around the world such as Ivo Jan Van der Werff, Nils Moenkemeyer, Charles Castleman, Jonathan Brown, Roger Myers, Choong-Jin Chang, Sabine Bouthinon, Pierre Henri-Xuereb, Laurent Korcia, Steven Ansell, Kerri Ryan, Born Lau, Su Zhen, George Taylor, David Harding and Diemut Poppen. They have worked on chamber music with Terry King, Lawrence Wheeler, Peter Zazofsky, Kimberly Fisher, Ohad Bar-David, Abhijit Sengupta, Erika Lawson, Philippe Chao, Katie Schlaikjer, Ross Harbaugh, Tom Landschoot, Robert Davidovici and the Armernet Quartet.
Classical collaborations in concert include artists such as Stephen Hough, Lola Astanova, Christopher O'Riley, Alessio Bax, Elisha Abas, Ohad Bar-David, Richard Fleischman, Martín Palmeri, Pierre Henri-Xuereb, Michael Klotz, Laura Bossert, Rita Porfiris, Laura Goldberg, the Hausmann and Invoke quartets. Mx. Roderick-Lorenz is the recipient of Certificate of Appreciation from Miami Dade County Office of the Major and Board of County Commissioners (2015) and other recognitions for their artistry and academic success such as the Otto Sussman Trust (2018) and three grants: Community Arts Grant from Central New York Council on the Arts (2019), Collaborative Arts Grant from the College of Visual and Performing Arts “VPA”, Syracuse University (2017) and Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement Grant “The Source” (2019). In January of 2023, they became an Equity Scholar at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. In the fall of 2023, the Mayor of Coconut Creek welcomed Aleksandre to North Broward with a Token of Appreciation from the City Commission.
Upcoming events include a residency at the Hornby Music Festival in Vancouver as part of the Lyrica Trio and an appearance as guest conductor of the New Hampshire Philharmonic in the spring of 2024. Aleksandre also joined the viola section of the South Florida Symphony for their concert series starting in the fall of 2023. Most rencently, they joined the viola section of the International Pride Orchestra in NYC, one of the only fully queer ensembles throughout the world.
Their principal teachers include Ivo Jan Van Der Werff (Rice University), Richard Fleischman (New World School of the Arts), Michael Klotz (Florida International University) and Laura Bossert (Syracuse University).
They perform on a beautiful viola made for them by the Mexican luthier Carlo Gazanini in 2007.
Mx. Roderick-Lorenz holds an Associate’s Degree in English Literature from Miami Dade College, and a Dual Bachelor Degree in Viola Performance and Spanish Language, Literature and Culture from Syracuse University (Magna Cum Laude). In 2023, they obtained a Master of Music Education at the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
In their free time, Aleksandre enjoys exercising, reading metaphysics, travelling, learning French, salsa dancing and playing with their bull terrier, Amadeus.