Get to Know Guillermo
Hailed as a performer “with incendiary aplomb and technical control,” (El Paso Inc.) Mexican American pianist Guillermo de la Garza performs regularly both as a soloist and as a sought-after collaborator, with engagements that have taken him to venues throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Guillermo is a summa cum laude graduate in Piano Performance from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and is currently pursuing an M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy with an Emphasis in Injury-Preventive Technique at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, studying under Dr. Barbara Lister-Sink.
Other notable teachers include Dr. Dena Kay Jones, Dr. Arthur Greene, Dr. Dmitri Vorobiev, Mr. Ivan Klansky, Mr. Miroslav Brejcha, and Dr. Laura Spitzer.
Prior to relocating to North Carolina, Guillermo was the principal pianist for El Paso Opera, where he coached Resident Artists, performed in recitals, fundraisers and outreach performances, and served as rehearsal and pit pianist as necessary for all the company’s productions, working alongside renowned directors such as Brian DeMaris, Kathleen Kelly, Robert Tweten, and Jorge Parodi. He maintains an ongoing relationship with EPO, occasionally returning for specific projects. At UTEP, he served as music director for Opera UTEP and as staff collaborative pianist for the music department. As an active and experienced choral pianist, he has worked with famed conductors such as Z Randall Stroope and Reginal Wright. Guillermo has served as keyboardist for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra.
As a soloist, he has appeared with El Paso’s First Philharmonic Orchestra, Fa Music World Orchestra, UTEP Symphony Orchestra, as well as the El Paso Symphony Orchestra -- a performance that was described by critics as taking "on an athletic exuberance” handled with “virtuosic confidence.”
In 2023, Materia Collective, a label specializing in video game music, released Guillermo’s professional debut album: Piano Stories: Final Fantasy VI. This collection features virtuosic and introspective arrangements for solo piano, with compositions originally from "Final Fantasy VI" by Nobuo Uematsu. Guillermo continues to collaborate with Materia Collective on upcoming projects and runs a growing YouTube channel featuring piano covers of video game music, demonstrating his deep commitment to the genre. Guillermo is slated to perform at Super MAGFest 2024 in National Harbor, MD, where his program will include a curated selection of piano arrangements from various video game titles, showcasing his skill in interpreting this unique and challenging repertoire. An essential aspect of Guillermo’s mission is bridging the gap between traditional art music and the music of video games and films on stage.
Alongside his active performance schedule, Guillermo leads a private studio of talented students who regularly showcase their skills in recitals, master classes and regional and state competitions. The success of his teaching is evident in the accomplishments of his alumni, many of whom have pursued careers as professional classical pianists and have gained admission to prestigious universities across the United States.