Award-winning Colombian harpist and composer Nicolás Castañeda Lozano represents a new wave of Latin American musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended innovation and tradition. Throughout his career, he has explored a wide range of possibilities for the Llanera harp with the vision of developing a contemporary identity and sounds through genre-crossing composition and improvisation. Mr. Castañeda’s recent engagements include appearances at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, (Alberta, Canada), Somerset Folk Harp Festival (Princeton, New Jersey), the Nomads Festival (Helsinki, Finland), International Music Festival “Sonamos Latinoamerica” (Copenhagen, Denmark), Globalfest Uniarts (Helsinki), Somerset Folk Harp Festival (New Jersey, USA), and Maestros del Arpa Music Festival (Bogóta, Colombia). He has toured Europe with jazz cuatro (Latin American guitar) player Carlos Capacho; together, they offer “a modern interpretation of the Llanera music from the plains of Venezuela and Colombia” (International Music Festival “Sonamos Latinoamerica”).
Winner of multiple prizes in the Torneo Internacional del Joropo, the largest festival of Colombian-Venezuelan joropo in the world, Mr. Castañeda is a virtuoso on the Llanera harp, performing as both a soloist and a leader in Colombian traditional and jazz ensembles. However, his eclectic musical style draws on his background as a multi-instrumentalist—skilled also in traditional Colombian percussion instruments, and the clarinet—and as a free jazz performer. Following a successful performing career in Latin America, Mr. Castañeda became the first Colombian harpist to attend the Berklee College of Music, where he began developing a unique compositional approach to the Llanera harp. His sonic experimentation with jazz, traditional, and other world music traditions coalesce in his first EP Renacer, which demonstrates the Llanera harp’s exciting versatility and virtuosity through original works. He is currently developing his second album of music written for solo Llanera harp and multiple collaborations with small band ensembles.
Aside of his outstanding career as a professional performer, Mr. Castañeda has taken a research path on his intertwined musical artistry and developed at the Sibelius Academy Uniarts Helsinki, a novel research proposing an intercultural music notation proposal that do not limit the performer’s cultural frame or artistic identity and enhance the possibility for intercultural collaboration, adaptable to contexts and literacy knowledge around the creative process. Beyond Tradition, an Intercultural Music Notation Proposal.
As a scholar educator, lately Mr. Castañeda was invited as a House Wright Scholar guest artist at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he presented his academic research component as well as multiple performances and collaboration with world music ensembles of musicology and ethnomusicology department. His residency success was marked by a dynamic fusion of scholarly rigor and artistic innovation, leaving an indelible impact on both students and faculty alike. His ability to seamlessly bridge the worlds of academia and performance brought a refreshing perspective to the musicology and ethnomusicology departments and fostered new dialogues on the intersections of research, performance, and cultural innovation, further solidifying his reputation as a visionary scholar-artist.
Born in Bogóta, Colombia, Mr. Castañeda is now based in United States, where he contributes to the living tradition of Llanera harp playing through innovative projects, ranging from traditional music scholarship to interactive media.
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