The New York Times hailed Cristina Pato as “a virtuosic, burst of energetic energy” and The Wall Street Journal as “one the living masters the gaita”. Her dual career has led to performances on major stages in Europe, USA, India and Africa. Cristina Pato, a Gaita (Galician Bagpipe) player, was the first to release a solo album (1999). She has since performed on international stages with Yo-Yo Ma and Arturo O’Farril, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Osvaldo Giolijov, New York Philharmonic, and Paquito D’Rivera. After being a pop star in her native Spain with the gaita, she moved to New York to pursue her Doctorate and take her career to a new level. Cristina’s love for the gaita has been combined with a unique blend of Latin and jazz sounds. Her touring life also includes a passion for education and cultural exchange. Pato is a member Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble as well as a founding member its Leadership Council. They collaborate closely on tours and plan residencies including the multi-year partnership between The Silk Road Project (Harvard University) Since age 12 Ms. Pato has been a performer and recording artist. She has also released six solo gaita recordings as well as two piano albums. As a guest artist she has worked on over 30 recordings, including the Grammy Award-winning Yo-Yo Ma and Friends Songs of Joy and Peace (SONY BMG 2008); Miles Espanol New Sketches of Spain, Entertainment One Music (2011); and the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble album Off the Map (World Village 2010). Ms. Pato has performed more than 600 concerts in her own band. Many of these performances were recorded and broadcast on television stations like RAI, BBC TVG, CNN, and RTVE. Cristina Pato is a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano at Rutgers University. She was also awarded the Irene Alm memorial Prize for excellence in scholarly performance and research. Cristina Pato is a passionate educator and lecturer. She was named Mellon Artist in Residence at College of Holy Cross for the 2014-2015 Season. Her regular collaborations include the Vail International Ballet Festival, The Arts Program at the Aspen Institute and the Turnaround Arts educational programme of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The American organization New Music USA awarded Cristina’s Gaita and Orchestra Commissioning Project a grant in 2014 to help build a repertoire for the gaita and the symphony orchestra. She encouraged the creation of music that combined her passions for classical and world music, and her ability to play in both. Two concertos by Emilio Solla and Octavio Valez were premiered with Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Sphinx Orchestra, and Orquestra Simfonica del Valles, in 2015. Galician Connection is Galicia’s multidisciplinary festival, which she founded and directs. Cristina Pato resides in New York City. www.cristinapato.com/en
